


Book 1: Rising Tide

by Flipdark95



Series: Changing Elements [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-17
Updated: 2012-12-30
Packaged: 2017-11-21 09:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 66,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/595907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flipdark95/pseuds/Flipdark95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things are about to get messy in Republic City. A young man tries and fails to kill Amon, and joins the Avatar in trying to stop him. But Amon is clever, and is about to do something that will change the world, and everyone's minds, forever.</p><p>A Book 1 Story beginning in between Episode 5 and 6. All characters are as they are in canon as is the story. The only difference is a few original characters have been thrown into the mix. The first book in the Changing Elements series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Owl, and the Shadow

* * *

潮

Book 1

**Rising Tide**

Chapter 1

**The Owl, and The Shadow**

* * *

_Warehouse 15-A, Republic City._

On the roof of a apartment building overlooking a brightly lit warehouse, a feathery terror was about to strike back at his nemesis, ending an titanic struggle between man and bird, between nature and fleshy meat sacks, and between a disgruntled owl-hawk and a unfortunate equalist chosen to be his victim. The bird's massive wings disoriented him, prompting him to bravely respond by flailing wildly.

"This thing again! Get it off! Get it off, getitoff, getitoff!" He chose for his battlecry, apparently the bird took this as a personal challenge, and only worked harder to turn his head into a new conquest. The young equalist cried out as he slipped on a puddle of dirty water, pitching headfirst onto the iron rails that encircled the roof. It screeched and hovered nearby, just daring him to get back up.

Another chi blocker nearby, leaning over the rail and keeping a vigil on the low lying warehouse sighed, flicking a tiny gray pebble from his hand, which struck the bird in the chest. The predator squawked angrily, and flew off into the smog of the Badgermole Heights district, presumably to pick on another unfortunate soul.

As he patted his mask to check for scratches or rips he heard the other Equalist chuckle. "You aren't going to beat a bender screaming like that, Lagi." his deep voice doing nothing to hide his amusement.

Lagi rolled his eyes, grumbling as he regained his balance. "Why can't we fight a battle against the Owl-Hawks? Benders are less of a problem then they are."

"You don't want Amon to hear you say that kid...or at someone else to tell him that you did.", in the past six months Lagi had spent assigned to Maro's watch, he never bluffed about anything.

Lagi narrowed his eyes disapprovingly and folded his arms. "You know Maro, I've heard you state that at least ten times now, its lost the edge."

Maro rolled his eyes derisively. "I'm sure the Owl-Hawks will fear this new found confidence."

The rooftop fell silent as the conversation died. Lagi just turned and leant over the rail, focusing on the streets below. Maro sighed. "Lagi...how's the family?"

The kid seemed to perk up at once. "Oh! We're expecting, she's going to be born sometime in summer!"

"Good, that's good." Maro rubbed a spot on his neck that began to itch like crazy.

They both fell silent again, although now it was a comfortable one. For a few seconds, only the wind was making itself heard.

Lagi piped up again. "Hey Maro-"

"Hmm?" he turned towards Lagi, fearing another inane question.

The young man's voice was strangely quiet, and a bit fearful as well. "My baby girl- what's going to happen to her if she can bend? What will Amon do?"

Maro was surprised as he was caught off-guard. He never really thought about a Equalist having a bender in their family. "I...don't know."

"Oh-" He quickly thought up an idea to calm his younger partner's fears. This was something that had come up plenty of times in the movement before, he just never thought it would come from someone he knew or worked with personally. "Look, next time I see Amon, I'll ask him for you." Maro reassured him.

His young partner looked up, a earnest smile on him. "Thanks, Maro."

The older man excused himself, disappearing around the corner of a small roof generator to patrol the other side of the building.

Lagi's eyes grew heavy behind the foggy green lenses of his mask, and he realized that he was going to doze off. He shook himself awake, before giving up and drifting deeper into a light sleep.

On the side of the building away from the Warehouse, a pair of hands grasped onto the edge of the roof. The shadow pulled himself up silently, thankful for the black gloves.

He kept low, and ducked behind a low wall. He kept his back to it, and shuffled right. The wall made a hard turn forwards, running all the way to a closed stairwell descending into the building. He peeked over the top of it, noting the two Equalists. One was obviously asleep on his feet, while the only sign the other was there was the sound of smoke grenades shaking in his pouch.

He ran past the stairwell, vaulting over the rail. He dropped twenty feet before slowing his descent, using a gesture to form a air cushion around him. His feet brushed against the ground as he released the air. He bent low again, putting his back up against the outer shell of a exterior generator. He made his way to the edge of it, leaning slightly to watch the other side.

He heard footsteps coming his way, and pulled himself back. A trio of Equalists walked into view, heading past the generator and to the other wall of the warehouse. He saw a heavy duty steel door set into the middle of the wall, he just had to get across a ten metre gap of brightly lit ground and he would get there.

Watching the last of the guards disappear around the corner, he moved, swiftly crossing the illuminated ground to the door. He pulled off a glove, and started to flex and bend his fingers, working at the door's lock by manipulating the air inside it. He was rewarded with a click.

He opened the door slowly, stepping into a long tunnel filled with steam. He walked forwards cautiously, wishing he was far enough in training to move the heavy gas away. The metal walkway clanged silently as he moved closer and closer towards the middle of the tunnel.

He stopped for a moment, suddenly very doubtful about continuing. His feeling was rewarded with a black shape moving towards him at a fast velocity. He tilted the side, the object touching him lightly across the cheek. A stinging pain was left behind, and he gasped in surprise. The object embedded itself in a fuse box set beside the door, sparking as it overloaded the fuse box.

A even larger human shape was running towards him through the steam. He rolled forwards, barely managing to avoid another baton. The figure whirled around, his hands grabbing the tails of his coat. He grunted as he spun around with a kick, hitting nothing but steam as the figure dodged with impossible speed. A fist slammed into his chest, sending him sliding back a bit.

He ran forward, and dropped to the floor, extending his foot forwards. The slide missed, and he quickly tried to whirl around, but wasn't fast enough. A white pain erupted from his back as he felt the baton jab viciously into his spine. He cried out in pain, and flew his hands outwards, using a pocket of air to send the figure flying back. He didn't hesitate, and ran forwards, locking the heavy door behind him. He ran towards a junction of corridors, seeing that the door ahead was locked he turned left, skidding around the corner and running full pelt into the dark stairwell at the end.

He took the stairs two at a time, and with relief saw the slightly ajar door at the top. He flung it open, heading out into a massive rectangular hall. The upper reaches were dimly lit, of that he was thankful for. He stood on a platform at the top of a row of storing shelves, which were laden with goods and exports from out of the city. He walked over to the railing on his left, overlooking a brightly lit area of the hall.

Four sturdy columns held up the roof over this area, and the floor was covered with a simple red rug that stretched from wall to wall. At the focal point of these columns was a simple wooden altar, with lit candles standing on each corner. Their flames danced gracefully, the flickering light they gave off reflecting off of the white mask of a man kneeling before them, head bowed in front of a cloth-covered object. Him.

Underneath the calm expression he wore, his thoughts were set ablaze at the sight of the hooded figure. His target. His revenge.

He stepped back a few meters from the rail, unsheathing a sword from his scabbard. Both sides of the blade were straight tempered, allowing for effective slashing and cutting attacks. The edge came to a thi and, sharp point seventy centimetres from the guard, making it very well suited for thrusts and stabs. The edge ran straight, strengthening the blade so it wouldn't break. It was a fine weapon, and his teacher taught him well. But what he was about to do, was entirely made up by him.

He gently massaged the air around his feet, coaxing it into a sort of pressurized spring. He held onto the sword firmly, and broke into a sprint, running towards the rail. When the time was right he pumped his arm skywards and the air cushion propelled him forwards, his arc would end at the hooded figures head.

As he rocketed forwards, he held his blade out in front of him, the tip aimed straight ahead. All of his fury, his grief, would go into this blow. Unblinking and focused, he drove the blade's tip forward, straight through the fabric of the man's hoo-

The fabric was replaced by a grim white mask, which moved almost imperceptibly to the side, the blade kept soaring forwards, followed by the surprised boy. A vice like grip wrapped around his right shoulder, and he was spun around, vision swimming as he was released, sent crashing against a pillar.

His very core was shaken by the impact, and he barely registered the massive splint now visible in the wooden column. He shook it off, growling as he stumbled to stand. He still registered the dark figure walking slowly towards him. "Outmatched already?"

The boy roared his answer, holding the blade in a two handed grip as he ran at the figure. He slashed at Amon, only for him to stop the blade cold and hold it captive in his thick gloved hands. He leashed a vicious kick at the boy, connecting between his legs. The boy had the breath taken out of him, and was thrown backwards by the blow, severely stunned. He coughed as he rolled over onto his back, trying and failing to get up. His body fought against his efforts to move, and every time he tried blinding pain stomped him down.

Sluggishly, he managed to get moving again, raising himself slowly while taking deep,gasping breaths. The boy swayed terribly as he got to his feet, trying to blink away a cloud of sweat and blood. The cold white mask seemed to shake slightly, as if the man behind it was being disappointed by his efforts.

He'll change that. He held his sword loosely, failing to get a firm grip on the handle. Amon walked purposefully towards him, arms at his sides. He waited for the terrorist to get closer, and then acted. He swung his sword with both hands, whipping it around in a powerful sweep at head level.

Amon merely leaned back, the edge of the blade missing his neck by millimeters. He snapped back, gripping the middle of the sword blade and wrenching it out of the boy's languid hold. He tossed it away, the blade clattering as it hit the hard floor near the shelves. The boy instinctively backed away a few steps, stopped by the felling of splintered wood behind him.

Amon's hand flew towards his neck, gripping him in an iron hold. He slowly held the boy closer, so that he could stare into the cold black depths of the mask's eyes.

"Did you really think that it would be so simple?" The boy struggled against his grip in vain. Amon turned and flung him, sending him crashing to the floor in front of the altar. The boy gasped for air, curling up in pain. Slowly and inexorably, the grim figure walked towards him once more.

"What a pit-" his dark eyes narrowed as he turned his head slightly towards a cracking noise. A churning spray of water bursted from behind a line of shelves. One of the sections wall sections groaned and split apart, forced open by a torrent of water spilling into the warehouse. A few unconscious equalists were swept in as well, followed by a band of armored men and women.

The one at their head, a tall, gaunt man, shouted out indistinct orders to his fellows who filed into the central walkway between the shelves, keeping a orderly but fluid formation. A positively greedy gleam showed itself in Tarrlok's blue eyes as he saw what was happening. "We've got him!" Excitement coursed through him at the sight of the infamous white mask, fueling his expectations that he could finally bring down the city's greatest threat for good.

Another equalist was sent flying past the men, crashing into the corner of a shelf. One more figure, wearing armour like the others, walked in. She had her brown hair tied into a pony tail, and seemed to carry herself with a proud – some would say arrogant – stature.

Until she saw the hooded man at the end of the hall.

Amon calmly picked up the boy's sword, and like the finger of fate, pointed it at the girl. He ran forward, holding the sword in a expert grip as he dodged chunks of earth, and whips of water, drawing closer and closer to the line of benders. Hopping lithely over a disc of cracked floor meant to hit his legs, he used the momentum to lunge at her, the tip of the blade extended. The girl was frozen in fear, unable to move or think at all… flashes of a sea of  sickly green lenses rooting her to the spot.

A massive gust of wind threw the warehouse into chaos, tossing around heavy crates and mechanical parts like mere toys, the blast hit Amon in mid-air, sending him careening over the heads of the benders, landing roughly on the far end of the warehouse. The boy got up painfully, one arm held close to his chest as he yelled, unleashing a massive wall of fire at Amon.

The benders sprang into action, quickly spinning water and earth around themselves to deflect the flames. The earthen dome and water shields hissed and crackled, with the material on the exterior being melted into a smooth wavy surface. A constant stream of steam wafted off of the water, which spun furiously to keep the heat out.

Keeping the water shields up, they turned as one, except for the girl, to see Amon walk away calmly, using a massive hole in the wall to escape into the depths of the city. The sword lay abandoned on the ground.

With the building falling apart, the brown skinned leader shook the girl, trying to get her out of her paralysis. She blinked twice, her face a mask. He pointed over to the boy by the altar, and slapped her on the shoulder; he directed the others back through the hole, staying behind to help the girl.

With a sigh the boy collapsed, utterly broken physically and emotionally. His vision flickered and blackened. And he coughed and spluttered as smoke seeped into his lungs.

"-ot him, Korra?" a smooth and accentless voice asked.

He saw the underside of "Korra's" chin nod.

"Come on quickly then! We'll head back to the station, damn we almost had him!" the voice had a hint of frustration and disappointment to it.

* * *

_Republic City, Police Headquarters_.

A long and narrow building sat alongside Avatar road, managing to impose a sense of authority and iron will in a surprisingly simple shape. It was crowned by with five domes of iron, each one a refueling point for the zeppelins of Republic City's police force. Inside it was a maze of justice and the will to do right, in a quiet corner of that maze was a grey, square room. Holding only a wooden table and a simple chair. An absolutely dejected boy was sitting on it, staring without seeing at a glass mirror. His black longcoat seemed to just hang off of him, and his grey eyes seemed shrunken, matching the deflated look the rest of his body held.

He was absolutely silent.

On the other side of the glass mirror were three people. The youngest of them, the brown haired girl from before, leant back against a wall, her well toned arms crossed in front of her. She was staring down at the floor. Her armour was sitting on a table nearby, and she now dressed in a light blue tunic, and brown seal-skin boots. The chief of police and a city councilman stood in front of the glass mirror, watching their guest.

"What's the meaning of this, Councillor?" she regarded Tarrlok with eyes the color of iron, and the temperament to match.

The brown skinned man from before, still dressed in his armor, clasped his hands behind his back. "Simple. He interrupted our capture of a wanted terrorist, brought down half a warehouse with uncontrolled fire-bending, and..." his eyes almost gleamed with a strange light. "He could air bend as well."

"Who is he?" Lin demanded, watching the grey eyed teenager closely.

"No clue, we couldn't find any identifying marks on him, and he hasn't said anything at all." Tarrlok sighed.

The chief of police narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. "That's going to change."

She was about to head out the door, when Tarrlok stopped her. "With all due respect, Chief Bei Fong, I would like to interrogate him first. I'm pulling rank here."

For a moment he thought of closing his eyes as death came swiftly, but none of the sort happened.

"Make it quick" she said in a low growl.

He nodded dismissively as he exited the room, seemingly forgetting the girl was there as he headed past her. No one could see the almost eager smile on him.

A few seconds later the door to the interrogation room opened with a squeak, swinging shut behind Tarrlok as he strode in. He placed his hands on the table, leaning in towards the boy. He didn't seem to realise or acknowledge that he was there. The councilman straightened, deciding that aught to change.

"Quiet one are you?" He teased him, trying to get a rise out of the teen. Stone cold silence rose instead.

He shook his head good-naturedly. The boy merely sat there in cold response.

He extended a hand towards him. "My name is councilman Tarrlok, I'm a representative of the northern water tribe."

Nothing. He sighed, and backed off a few steps, deciding to be a bit more direct. "How do you know Amon?"

The boy seemed to move a little, and Tarrlok noticed his hands had tightened slightly. He continued. "Why were you at the warehouse?" Another twitch of movement. The boy’s fingers on the table seemed to curl a bit. "Dead family? Another sad story to add to Amon's list of crimes?" it was something he'd seen time and time again, the same story repeated over and over.

The boy mumbled something in response. The councilman reddened and left the room in a rush, leaving the boy to stew.

The door to the small observation room flung open, Tarrlok's nostrils flared as he clenched his fists. Chief Bei Fong shook her head with a smirk. "My turn now Councillor?"

"Not even your mother could get him to crack!"

She chose not to respond to that. "Well before I go in there to ask nicely- what are his abilities? He's a bender?"

The girl leaning against the wall answered first. "He's an airbender."

"Something to add, Avatar?"

"It's in his movements, Tenzin told me how air nomads behave and move. Might want to take him out of that confined space."

"I've never heard of an air bender burning down a warehouse."

The girl shrugged. "Neither have I." she stopped talking, going back to looking at the floor.

Tarrlok shrugged. The chief of police narrowed her eyes as she took a glance at the boy. "I'll have to be careful then." She exited the room confidently, flinging the door to the boy's room open like she owned it, and stamped a boot down on the ground. A square patch of the floor slammed upwards, with the back of it raising itself even higher. She sat down on her chair. She started off simply. "Name."

The boy didn't acknowledge her, still staring at the table's surface. "Name."

He didn't care, keeping his mouth shut. A iron grip wrapped itself around his neck, and the woman threw him up against the wall. A dangerously calm tone followed the violent action. "Name."

He didn't bother struggling, merely hanging there with the armored woman's hand wrapped around his neck. They stood like that for a full minute, one staring at the other with a unbreakable will. The other silent. He fell to the floor roughly, the pressure around his neck gone as the door opened and closed. Leaving him alone again.

She stomped back into the little room, hands shaking with barely contained rage. Tarrlok's eyes seemed to laugh at her, and she felt like stuffing him into a metal tomb. "Looks like we're both wrong."

"He can rot for all I care."

"No he won't, I'll send a message to Tenzin-" he began to argue when the door swung shut with a crash, they both looked over, noticing that the Avatar was gone.

* * *

_I failed...what the hell do I do now?_

He was shaken from his thoughts with the door opening again, this time gently and...normally. That surprised him, all things considered.

The girl from before stepped through, watching him cautiously as she stopped by the table wringing her hands.

He tried ignoring her, preferring to stay silent than to be asked any more questions by someone looking to be more freaked out than he was. As he twisted to the side to stare at the wall he shifted his shoulder painfully, making him curse quietly.

The girl moved towards him, unbuttoning a pouch on her hip before he could say or do anything. A stream of clear, blue water flowed out of it, which she directed towards him. He was about to protest when the water coalesced into a blob, flattening against his shoulder, giving him the sensation of being attacked by a jelly creature. Something which usually only happened in nightmares he had as a kid.

His skin itched a bit as the bruises and torn muscles were washed away and knitted back together. Despite himself, he sighed quietly as he felt the soothing embrace of water bending. It felt good.

The water was drawn back, flowing gently into Korra's pouch. He didn't know what to say, completely new to this kind of treatment, and didn't have the chance when she lowered a hand to him. He stared it for a moment before taking it, and was accidentally flung over the table and into the window, smacking into it. He slid down it painfully.

"Oh damn! Uh...sorry?"

He picked himself up, rubbing his cheek gingerly. "You certainly have a bit of pull."

She chuckled nervously, glancing at her water pouch. "Sometimes I forget how strong I am."

He suppressed a groan as he straightened, moving closer to the table. "Yeah...so, you're the Avatar?"

"Yep." she bobbed her head quickly as he sat down on the empty seat.

He looked at her for a moment, not entirely convinced. "Master of all four elements, saviour of the world?"

"Definitely- well, three elements currently, I'm still working on the air part." her voice dropped away a little as she said that last part, and he guessed that was a sore topic for her.

"Uh huh." He studied her for a moment, noting how strongly built she was. Like he needed an example.

"So - my name is Korra." She held her hand out. He took it cautiously, and they shook, with no wrestling moves being exchanged.

The room was absolutely filled with awkwardness as he looked down at the table, not really sure what else he could do.

She broke the silence. "Are you alright?" she said as her eyes softened.

"I've been thrown around harder."

"I meant- about tonight." her voice went small as she said the last part.

He sighed. "No." He clenched his hands again.

She held her hands up. "Uh- sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No. It's fine. But can we talk about something else?"

"Okay. You burnt down a warehouse." she smirked, tilting her head at him.

"Yeah, I apologize for that. Can't pay for it though." he turned out his pockets, showing nothing but lint and scrunched up paper.

"No I mean, you burnt down a warehouse after lifting the crates like toys."

"Well I'm an airbender." he shrugged, not quite sure what the problem was.

"No you're not, you can fire bend." she corrected him.

Ah. He shrugged again. "I'm kind of both."

"I'm pretty sure only the Avatar can do that."

"What can I say? It's a gift."

"It was kind of terrifying… to be honest." she admitted, wringing her hands as she looked away from him and at the floor.

She fell silent, and he began to fell uncomfortable again, trying to stop his eyes from wondering anywhere they shouldn't be. He decided to do something, clearing his throat. "My name is Tai."

"Do I have to say my name again?" the girl joked.

He chuckled. "Uh I don't think so."

A smirk played on her lips, before it grew into a genuine smile. "Good. And thank you. For saving me from him."

He rather liked watching her smile.

_Republic City, Avatar Road._

The first light of the rising sun poked through the tall buildings of Republic City, lighting up the Police Headquarters with a soft radiance. Satomobiles and rickshaws went about their business, while men going to work were walking down the footpaths, and their family's were beginning to wake up from sleep. A shadow fell across the area, as a massive creature flew towards the ground.

It was covered in shaggy white fur, and had a wide, slightly squashed head, with two large brown eyes. Its face was brown as well, and its nose was dark blue. It yawned as it touched the ground, causing the air bender on its saddle to stumble slightly as he stepped off of it. Tenzin gave him a disapproving glance, prompting the Bison to keep yawning as it laid down to have a rest.

He strode into the building through the main doors, entering into a wide lobby area, filled with chairs and desks. Police officers, clerks, and technicians bustled about as they handled the affairs of dealing out law and justice. He walked up to the main reception desk, behind which sat a very cheerful woman with sandy brown hair.

Her face cracked open into a smile as she saw him. "Ah! Councillor Tenzin, how can we help you today?"

"I got a message from Tarrlok about a incident last night. Can you direct me to him?" he fought the urge to stare into those strangely hypnotic and bubbly eyes.

"Sure can, just head right until you reach the end of the hall, its the last door on the right. Have a pleasant day sir!" she waved at him cheerily, flashing pearly white teeth in a over-sweetened smile that would make a poodle-otter blind.

Tenzin nodded absently. "Yes..." he, airbending master, son of avatar Aang and a all-round serious guy, was utterly creeped out by her cheerful demeanor. She reminded him of a girl he dated while still young, now a woman who had a permanently dented tooth thanks to the efforts of a certain earthbender.

He nodded his thanks and left down the hall, looking for the last door in the right. Although the hall was filled with people walking towards and away from him, he never bumped into anyone, and found the quickest route through rather easily.

Putting a wiry hand on the door knob he pulled it open, and stepped in just in time to see Chief Bei Fong's eye twitch. Tarrlok stood there smugly, hands behind his back.

He bowed slightly. "Chief Bei Fong."

Regarding the slimy water tribesman with a wary eye, he crossed his arms. "Tarrlok, what is this?"

The councilman nodded at the downcast teen on the other side of the glass window. "Someone with a very interesting skill set."

Tenzin moved past him, clasping his hands behind his back as he surveyed the room. He noticed with a bit of disapproval that Korra was in there as well, talking with the boy. "Why is Korra in there?"

The Chief answered him. "Damn runt will only talk to her."

"Don't worry Lin, I'm sure it's only because of your winning personality." He fought the urge to flinch as the woman's eyes narrowed dangerously. Before she smirked and punched him in the shoulder.

The northern tribesman rolled his eyes. "We found him while raiding a Equalist warehouse in Badgermole heights. He tried to get to Amon before we could, and it nearly cost him."

"Any idea as to why he was going after Amon?"

Tarrlok shrugged. "Revenge is my best guess. The man has a lot of enemies."

"Hmm..." Tenzin's eyebrows furrowed as he rubbed his bony chin. "So what is his skillset?"

"He's a air bender, and also-" Tarrlok was stopped by Tenzin's slightly agape expression, before he quickly cleared his throat to hide it.

"A air bender?" Tenzin was getting decidedly uneasy about everything he uncovered about the boy, as new thoughts and ideas appeared.

Tarrlok grumbled slightly, muttering something under his breath that if Ikki had heard, she would no longer have a innocent tongue.

He rolled his eyes at his fellow councilman's display.

She glanced at him with her arms folded. "He's also a firebender."

The master air bender was stopped in his thoughts, confirming what he was already going towards as he looked through the window, watching the boy intently. "I'm going in there.

Lin's laugh was slightly mocking. "Good luck with that, Tenzin."

They heard a knock on the door, and one of her underlings stepped in. He was a recruit, and it showed with him gulping as he saluted the three of them. "Ma'am. A situation is brewing near the train station that requires your attention."

She nodded curtly. "Understood, Gummi." she glanced at the others for a moment, shaking her head as she left the room.

Tarrlok stripped off pieces of his armor, placing them neatly next to Korra's pile of gear. Underneath he was wearing a simple blue tunic, and finely made black pants. He bid goodbye to Tenzin, leaving after the Chief.

Tenzin stood alone in the small office, quietly watching the boy for a few minutes, before deciding to go in.

The door swung open, and Korra saw who it was. "Tenzin?"

He bowed his head towards her. "Hello Korra." he closed the door before stepping into the room, stroking his beard while studying the boy. Certainly looked like an airbender.

Tai eyed him warily, trying to decide if he was like the creep and the angry woman before.

He went for the empty chair at the other side of the table, using a gust of wind to push it out from its hiding place. He sat down and placed his elbows on the table, lacing his hands together as he watched Tai.

Korra wasn't sure what to make of this, so she backed off slightly towards the door, stopping when he spoke.

"You broke the first rule of training: Never seek a fight." It wasn't so much as a insult, more of a statement.

Tenzin continued. "Your behavior is strange for an air bender, if I must say so. Who were your parents?"

The boy crossed his arms. "Colonists." He replied noncommittally, staring away from him and at the wall, a strange look in his eyes.

The older man closed his eyes. "So your father was an firebender, and your mother a airbender?" he watched impassively as the boy's eyes widened a little.

"Who was your master?" he pressed, piling the questions on top of one another to keep him from closing up.

"What does it matter?" the boy replied, leaning back in his chair.

"I need to know if I'm going to train you."

The room was silent, and Korra's jaw hung open as she peered at the two of them, not expecting Tenzin to say that. She glanced at the boy to see his reaction, and was slightly put off by the scowl forming on him.

"What makes you think I need training?" the boy said indignantly, arching an eyebrow.

"Many things. Who was your master?" Tenzin didn't really need to ask something like that, knowing of all the current air benders who could teach others the art.

Tai crossed his arms. "Telei."

This time it was Tenzin's turn to be surprised as he went a bit pale. "Telei...I thought he died during the black day?"

"He was killed by...someone else." The boy's hands were clenching, his knuckles nearly turning white. He must have deeply respected his master to do something like this. Tenzin frowned, a flash of vivid images running through his mind, quickly he quashed them, placing the priority on at least giving the boy somewhere to stay.

He nodded, understanding him perfectly as he had made his decision. "I'm taking you to Air Temple Island."

"What?" Genuine confusion and that constant stubbornness mixed in the word, as the boy eyed him suspiciously.

"You need somewhere to stay, also somewhere where we can begin your training immediately." Tenzin explained. He saw something in the boy, past all that annoying teen punk routine and the burning hatred bubbling inside of him. He saw a genuinely good person.

"I don't need training." the boy started, before being cut off by a stern stare from Tenzin.

"Don't be stupid, you're reckless and destructive, the exact opposite of a air bender." he drilled into the boy forcefully, sincerely trying to get him to see his point of view. He needed help.

"How will this convince me to go with you?" the boy asked condescendingly, not even bothering to look at Tenzin, instead choosing to focus on the table.

The airbender suppressed a sigh he was well accustomed to. "You have nothing but the clothes you wear, and the sword you keep by your side. No place to go, no friends to count on. Without those, you will not last long." he explained, trying to drum into the stubborn boy that he shouldn't be on his own like this.

Tenzin stopped talking, and stood up to leave the room. As he neared the door, he beckoned for Korra to follow. "Let's go, Korra."

The girl was unsure of what to do, glancing at the boy drumming his fingers on the table, pointedly keeping all of his focus on the wall with a burning glare. "But.."

He didn't see any reason to go with them. He was absolutely fine on his own, he found Amon without any help whatsoever, crept into his base alone and dodged all the patrols. His drumming lessened slightly as he made the mistake of glancing at those blue eyes, being momentarily lost in them. Maybe he needed a bit of help.

He sighed. "Fine." he barged past them, forcing his way down the hall, and past the reception desk to the main doors.

Korra folded her arms, giving Tenzin a glare that could melt ice. He shrugged and raised an quizzical eyebrow while straightening his half cloak, and led the way after him.

Oogi yawned, his massive tombstone sized teeth coming together with a loud noise. A crowd of people had surrounded the Sky Bison, completely unsure of what to make of it.

As Tai exited the building the crowd was calm, even beginning to warm up to the large and strange looking creature. A pair of children wearing green shirts and brown pants nervously walked up to him.

The massive creature studied them with a large eye, and decided to lick the boy from head to toe on a whim. His rough tongue almost knocked the boy off of his feet as it attacked him, not caring for his protests and shouts. The girl laughed at her brother being covered in saliva, she reached up and touched the bison on his nose, making several things happen at once.

Oogi's eyes boggled, and his nose twitched unbearably. He reared back, scaring the two children standing in his shadow. He came back down with a massive thud, sneezing and sending the girl and boy flying back into the crowd. The mass of people parted instinctively, crying out in alarm as they saw them careen towards the tough walls of the police headquarters.

Tai saw this and reacted, sweeping his arms together and thrusting his palms forwards. The two children's mid-air journey was halted by a soft cushion of air. And they dropped lightly to the ground. He shook his head and walked through the crowd, trying not to catch the eye of anyone. He stood in front of Oogi, who was busy trying to scratch his nose with stubby leg. He was grunting in frustration.

Tai scratched his nose for him, stilling the Bison as the annoying itch slowly went away. He took a few steps back, letting Oogi sniff him, like Telei had taught him with Heimeng.

Tenzin appeared behind him. "Making friends already are we?"

The boy ignored him, walking around Oogi's side to climb into the massive saddle. He chose one of the back corners, sitting next to a orange covered ledger that held absolutely nothing of interest to him. Korra jumped in after him, choosing the middle of the saddle, pressing her back up against the side and stretching her legs across, taking up enough space for two people to sit side by side. A gust of wind ruffled his black hair slightly, as Tenzin gracefully dropped onto Oogi's neck, grabbing onto his reins.

A uncharacteristic noise came out of his mouth. "Yip Yip!" he calmly said.

With a rumble the Bison lifted off, each flap of his heavy tail generating lift. He guided him towards the statue of Aang, holding on loosely as they left the police building.

* * *

A man watched the group depart behind green goggles. He was perched on top of a apartment building facing police headquarters. On his belt, two kali sticks hung loosely. He held a radio in his gloved hands.

"They've left the station. Heading back to their island." He reported, following their giant mount as it slowly shrank into the distance, before finally disappearing between the blue and red roofs of the Twin Dragons.  
  
The radio crackled again. "Leave them for now. Keep watching the boy and report back to me."

"Understood." The man with the green goggles flicked off the dial on the radio, placing it back on a hook on his belt as he straightened and walked away from the edge of the building, continuing his observation.

* * *

潮


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

潮

* * *

_Pro-Bending Arena, Republic City._   


A soft white object slammed into the boy with surprising strength and impact, replacing the lovely image of a brown-skinned girl doing things he was certain would violate a few modesty laws when sadly the rough white fabric shunted the girl and her blue eyes out of his head, and a single thought managed to crawl out of his sluggish mind.

Sometimes he really hated his brother. Said brother was sitting on the other end of the couch, his arms crossed. They were in a square room, with a ladder heading upwards between them. Their couch spanned three sides of the room. The room's windows ran all around them, and were covered by blinds so as to not let the blinding sunlight in such a critical hour of the morning.

"Wake up Bolin." He was leaning forward on the unstable couch nearby, shaking his head slightly as he sipped from a cup of tea while reading the newspaper.

Like death deciding to live again, he rose from the couch as he rubbed at his green eyes. "Wuz' time is it?" he slurred, using the language of the half-dead to ask his question.

His brother barely glanced away from the newspaper as he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, the sun is up."

"Specifically..?" Bolin's speech became clearer by the second as his head emptied itself of the natural fogginess, and he yawned to illustrate this very point.

Mako could hold it in no longer, and rolled his eyes. "8:00 AM."

"I could use the sleep." he said, scratching a itchy part on the back of his dark-colored shorts.

"Not with me around." Mako said, concentrating on using his finger to shoot a tiny stream of fire at the cup of noodles nearby, warming up the heat-resistant material and the delicious broth within.

"Damn." he whined, waking up the ball of red fur around his neck, it stretched,and shook itself as Bolin sat up, a storm cloud forming on his features as he yawned and stretched, grumbling. He rolled his neck, scratching himself as he headed towards the ladder. That really was a itchy spot.

Mako grabbed the newspaper on the coffee table, skimming through it as Bolin slipped on the second rung of the ladder. As he neared the top of it, reaching for the latch, Mako told him something he didn't want to hear. "We're out of milk and coffee."

Bolin sighed as he disappeared above the hatch. "I'll head out soon and get some more. Got nothing else to do today."

His head poked out above the wooden floor as he lifted himself to his feet, walking towards the kitchen that took up half the room. Heading past a decrepit toaster with rusted metal showing through peeling brown paint, he found their little black iron kettle; perched next to the sink and overshadowed by a leaning and swaying tower of stuff-encrusted bowls.

The metal was hot to the touch much to Bolin's relief. He grabbed a cup out of the cabinet, tipping a spoonful of brown powder into the bottom. He filled it up with hot water, which brewed a dark brown liquid which – to him – smelled absolutely glorious; he went over to their ice box, grabbing a two litre jug of milk. After his nose determined that the white liquid was non-lethal, he poured it into his brew, taking a small delight in watching the pearly white stream spiral slowly into the center of the dark brown surface, dispersing into it and slowly changing the liquid to a light brown.

He took a sip, letting the searing liquid hit him like a sledge hammer. The boy leaned back on the counter, watching the city light up as the morning sun began to show its brilliance to all. Once again, he was reminded of why people tended to run over each other for these kind of places to live in.

The boy wasn't sure what to do today. Early yesterday morning, he was training with the other Fire Ferrets for their finals match against the Wolfbats, the reigning champions of pro-bending. Everything was changed when the radio came alive with Amon's terrifying voice on the air, issuing a warning that if the people kept worshipping their bending 'athletes' by watching or going to the finals, there would be severe consequences.

Naturally the Republic City council unanimously agreed to cancel the tournament, fearing his message of terror. And naturally Korra took them to see the council, to explain why they shouldn't bow down to him. Unfortunately they were unmoved by their arguments – particularly his absolutely awesome contribution. He felt that would have swayed them if the Northern Water Tribe guy wasn't around.

As Tarrlok was about to bring down the gavel to authenticate their action, he was stopped by Chief Bei Fong, who was on their side of the argument strangely enough– they should show some backbone and keep the arena open, she personally promised the safety of the spectators by bringing her elite metal-benders in force to guard the venue.

The council, apart from Tenzin, agreed.

He was very happy about that. If the tournament match was scrapped, he and his brother would have to find more ways of bringing in money to pay the rent. Winning the match will get the fire ferrets the prize money, and even a tiny portion of it would go far in getting them a permanent home. He heard the creaks of the ladders rungs being used by someone, and then a hatch swinging shut. Guess he was going to be doing his own stuff for today.

Bolin shrugged as he finished his coffee a few minutes later. After making an impact on the dishes, he left the attic with Pabu on-shoulder, locking the hatch behind him.

* * *

Mako walked down the pier that connected the pro-bending arena to the city, moving past a few scatterings of people and vendors that were getting an early start at setting up shop in anticipation of the main event. He took the path running along the water's edge, going down it until spotting the gate that led the way into the park nearby. Built to separate the waterfront from the busy roads and streets of people and add a little greenery to the district. The path ended after while, feeding into another footpath that clung to one of the main roads of the city – known as the 'high road'.

Crowds of people passed him by and on occasion several animals as well. He didn't pay them any attention, merely focusing on getting to a crossing nearby. He waited with several others, including a very happy young man who was dressed dizzying arrays of green clothing, for the lights to go red, and the pedestrian signal to go green.

A constant stream of cars left them stranded there for twenty minutes, leaving Mako increasingly annoyed.

At the end of the age of waiting, the traffic finally relented, giving way from annoyance back to what could be called happiness. And he was right to be happy.

Hearing that the finals match was cancelled, only for the chief of police to personally oppose that decision? He called that a definite win, one he would be very pleased to tell Asami about.

Speaking of which, he finally reached the hail point. A bright yellow cab weaved towards him, navigating the flow of traffic with professional ability. The driver, his face hidden under a wide brimmed hat, wordlessly opened the passenger door, he climbed in, handing a pile of yuans to his outstretched hand, which held an impressive array of criss-crossing scars on its surface.

He shut the door behind him, supporting his cheek with a closed hand as he stared out of the window. "Central City station." The car pulled back into the lane, fitting in behind a gaudy roadster, which sported an over-sized back fin. It reminded him of Asami's competitors at the drag racing track. And how they lost pretty badly. 

As it went down Yamuna street, cutting past the eastern marketplace where Bolin kept buying those excellent rice balls from, he saw shopkeepers peddling their wares, street performers displaying incredible feats of the bending arts, buskers producing impossible amounts of noise, and all of this was surrounded by throngs of people from all nations, and – something he didn't want to see – pairs of dark clothed men and women, all with the same mark somewhere on them: a blood red circle.

His view shifted, leaving the open atmosphere of the markets and changing to a line of shoved-together apartments, with clotheslines connecting to the opposite windows; some of them weighed down by kids hanging off of them.

The taxi turned left, stopping abruptly as a pickup truck laden down with packed goods careened past. The driver grumbled, and kept going, turning onto a four lane road that ran straight for as far as he could see. Hogging one side of the road was a massive open space, upon which a huge golden statue stood, it depicted a armored figure, holding a raging flame in his right hand. The right side of the statue's face was mostly darker in coloration then the rest. People sat on benches below it, acting as if they weren't underneath a massive golden statue of the previous fire lord.

He thanked the driver, receiving cold silence in return. As soon as he cleared the car, it sped off back into the traffic, disappearing almost instantly despite there being only ten cars or so on the road.

He stood there for a moment, trying to decide which of the three massive double doors would be closest to platform four. He walked past the massive statue, passing a old man along the way. As he approached a pair of double doors he thought about the odd facial marking over his right eye? Maybe it was some strange colonial tradition. He shrugged as he walked, deciding it really wasn't worth his time.

Once inside the gargantuan building, he found his platform. He briskly walked over to it, standing next to a group of people wearing strange masks. They all looked at him in unison. The largest of them, wearing a boar mask, even waved. He returned the wave awkwardly, before averting his eyes and shuffling a little away from them. The welcome whine of steam escaping through a arriving train's smokestack couldn't come quick enough, he moved to the door on the last carriage, taking a corner seat. A few minutes later the conductor boarded the train, with the doors closing shut behind him.

Another whine of steam and the carriages pulled away from the station, being pulled along the tracks by a black engine car, a cityscape of buildings of all shapes and sizes passed by, the tracks soon led past a massive rectangular building, several stories high with smokestacks on each corner, belching pollution into the sky, obscuring the sun as the train passed by.

He heard the clickety-clack of the train's wheels slow as they neared the station, coming to a complete stop. A door at the front of the carriage opened, and the conductor blew his whistle. "Sato Station!"

Mako got up, going through the now open doors nearby. He stepped out onto a concrete platform, walking past a line of sparsely occupied seats covered by a corrugated metal shelter. He headed down a ramp going to street level, being greeted with a welcome sight at the bottom.

A absolutely beautiful girl waited on a bench nearby, her amber eyes practically sparkling as she smiled. She stood up, and hugged him. "Hey sweetie!"

"Morning, beautiful." Mako's face cracked into a gigantic grin as she nestled into his shoulder.

She like that as they walked away from the station. "Psyched about tonight?"

He smiled, feeling confident about his team's abilities. "Definitely." he grabbed her hand, and they headed in the direction of the factory.

"So how did you get the council to reconsider about tonight?" she asked, her eyes curious as they looked at him with wonder and love.

He chuckled. "Oh, actually it was Chief Bei Fong who told them to reconsider, she's a scary woman."

Asami seemed to shiver a little at the mention of her name. "That's for sure." she said with a knowing look in her eyes.

Mako chuckled again. "Wait, she didn't catch you racing by any chance?"

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, maybe."

"I'm surprised she didn't tell your father."

"She nearly did, I managed to talk her out of it though."

"Natural charm?" he asked, as the girl rolled her beautiful eyes at him.

"Works on you, so yes."

He shrugged. "I'm not the best example." 

"How about your brother?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah he can be a bit of a sucker sometimes."

They both giggled.

"So what's your father next great invention after the Satomobile?" he teased.

"He calls it a air-mover."

"Sounds ominous."

"He wants to study how air-bending works so he can make a flying automobile. He's been pestering Councilman Tenzin for days." 

"I'm positive that will end well." he sighed, liking that his hand lay undisturbed over her shoulders. 

They stopped talking, falling into a type of silence known only to young couples as they entered the massive factory, taking a metal staircase welded to the wall nearby. The stairs turned left onto a narrow walkway, which led to a fairly modest office which oversaw the factory floor below. Mako opened the door for Asami, letting her through before him. As Asami walked over to the old man looking out the window he closed the door with a soft click.

The man turned around and smiled. "My boy! How are you today?" He walked towards his desk, flicking a strange wooden bird, it's weighted head bobbed up and down into a cup of water, appearing to drink it.

He grinned. "Fine Mr. Sato. All ready to take down the Wolf bats tonight."

The barrel-chested man threw his arms wide open as he sat down on a very tall leather chair. "Excellent! Cheaters like them don't deserve the prize pot!"

Mako raised a eyebrow. "Cheaters? They've been defending champions of the tournament for three years now, sir."

Hiroshi wagged his finger at the boy. "Only getting there by paying off the refs!"

"I'll be careful then Sir." Mako promised, getting a thoughtful look on his features. Searching for a topic so as to keep the conversation alive, his eyes drifted over to a complicated drawing of a flying apparatus. "That's a interesting concept." 

Mr Sato looked perplexed for a moment, before turning his chair around to follow Mako's gaze. "Oh! That! It's going to be my latest invention!"

"You dazzle us all with your genius sir." he said drily, smiling to mean well.

"I do, don't I?" the man had a cat-like grin on him as he laughed.

Asami chuckled as she joined them. "Father, you can't take all the credit, what about that man that helped you when you were a boy?"

He looked abashed. scratching his head. "Yes right, I'll never forget him. Helped make all of this possible." 

"Who was he?" Mako asked, curious to know how the brilliant inventor got his start.

"A traveler, he was passing through my village when I offered to shine his shoes. He declined and well...that all led to this. Slammed that damn boomerang on my head a few times to get the message through." he had a warm, wistful look in his eyes as he gestured at everything around them. "Changed the world he did.", he shook his head and clapped his hands. "Well! Enough about that! What are you planning to do today my boy!" 

Mako rubbed his neck. "I was actually...uh...thinking of doing some things with Asami today." 

"Good, she does need to get out more..." he grinned, rubbing his chin as he looked at Asami. 

"Dad!" she complained, folding her arms and looking at him disapprovingly. 

He held his hands in a defensive stance. "Go have fun with Mako, darling!" 

She shook her head with a smirk, and went to his side, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you later then." she held her arm out to Mako, which he took gently.

And they left the office, leaving the philanthropist to his machinations.

* * *

_Air Temple Island._   


The massive sky bison yawned as it descended towards a traditional collection of buildings, landing next to a still pond laying in front of a huge collection of buildings, all nestled inside a large square , on the balcony facing the landing bison, a fairly short women, dressed in bright orange and yellow robes, was hanging up clothing, mostly consisting of the same robes. She waved to Tenzin as she went back inside, one hand on the small of her back.

Tenzin released Oogi's reins, and slid gracefully down his flank. He grabbed his feed bag, filled to the brim with nuts, plants, and bits of fruit. He stood in front of Oogi as he ate from the bag, almost emptying the thing in five mouthfuls. Korra slid down after him, and stumbled back as a orange blur smacked into her. A fleshy bald head, two bushy eyebrows, and small brown eyes appeared.

"Meelo, stop attacking her."

The child halted for a bit, before headbutting her knee. "I'm a wolf bat, I'll beat you all, and claim the pro-bending title!" his roar was heard by barely anyone as he continued his assault. Even though his blows were great and many, the avatar in training managed to push through them, striding forwards easily as he wrapped himself around her leg.

Tai slid down the bison, holding his sword and scabbard, wrapped in grey cloth. And stood there, looking a bit lost. Meelo peered at him, and ran under Korra's legs, coming to a halt in front of the boy. Like the finger of fate, Meelo pointed at him, and didn't move a muscle or blink for that matter.

A young girl walked out from the house, holding a open book in one hand as she waved to her father with the other. She didn't bat an eyelid as she glanced at what her younger brother was doing. "Morning, Daddy!" She said cheerfully.

Tenzin folded the bag neatly, placing it over a hook on Oogi's saddle. "Hello, Jinora." once he had stepped back from the bison's mouth, he noticed what his youngest son doing. "Meelo, your arm will get tired."

Meelo didn't seem to hear him, still standing as still as a statue that .

Almost afraid to tear his eyes away from the boy's stare, Tai turned his head towards Tenzin, desperate for a way out. His new mentor shook his head sadly, and headed inside with Jinora. Korra had a curious mix of concern and amusement on her as she watched the two of them.

Cautiously, he bent down to place his sword on the ground, keeping eye contact with the little boy at all times he reached into a pocket on his coat, bringing out a mall white marble. He had no idea where it came, but it would do the trick as he slowly rose his arm up, keeping his gaze on Meelo. The boy's head twitched a little as he saw the movement. Next he raised his other arm, before bringing them together, placing his right hand just over his left.

He concentrated, whipping the air between his palms into a disc that spun noisily. He grinned at the boy and kept going.

The boy finally relented, his mouth hanging open in awe. He giggled and ran inside, leaving a very perplexed expression on Tai. "Huh."

Korra walked over to him, her arms crossed. "What is it?"

"For a long time, he told me I was the last one." he murmured, staring in wonder at the massive spire rising up in front of him, and seeing a great herd of bison's lift off from their grazing fields, and float over the tops of the trees. This place looked like they were straight out of a historical novel, in stark contrast to the towering buildings and noise coming from the nearby metropolis.

"So did Tenzin." She gave him a smile which made the boy pause. He was silent, suddenly very unsure of what to do. She punched his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts as she stuck a thumb at the open doorway nearby. "Let's head in. I think breakfast is up."

"Yeah..."

* * *

_Fushe Park, Republic City._   


 Pabu's head popped out of his bag of corn bits, nibbling on a stolen piece as he wrapped himself around Bolin's neck. He leant back on a park bench, watching the scenery and animals around him. Occasionally his hand dipped into the corn bits, throwing a few into his mouth.

He noticed two girls walk past, they both saw him as well, and waved excitedly. They called out to him. "Good luck Bolin!" 

"I'll go easy on them!"

They giggled as they left, bringing a cheeky smile to Bolin's lips.

A particularly beautiful bush moved slightly nearby. He glanced at it, with an eyebrow raised. Pabu unwrapped himself and ran down his front, moving towards the bush with abandon. He raised himself up a bit, trying to sniff the nearest leaf .

The bush moved again, and Pabu wasn't quick enough. A gnarled hand shot out of the leafy depths, grabbing the fire ferret and disappearing with a rustle of leaves. The bush laughed with the voice of an old man. "Dinner!" it exclaimed before pausing."Wait...Pabu?" the bush purred as it moved violently. And Bolin walked over just as a old vagabond popped out of it 

"Hey Gommu!" he said cheerily, excited to see an familiar face.

The man had a gummy smile on him as Pabu wrapped around his neck, enjoying the lavish attention he on the receiving end of. "How've you been, Bo'?"

"Great! We're close to getting the prize money. With Korra's help it'll be easy peasy!." he sighed happily at his own words, thoughts of the spectacular girl overwhelming him and threatening to put stars in his eyes.

"Ah I met her a while back, she's a nice girl." He rubbed his belly. "Gave me a fish."

The boy sighed again as those images of her resurface, giving him a warm feeling of joy. "Yeah she's great. Awesome with pro-bending, funny, bright and..." he trailed off, his dreamy tone dropping away.

Gommu leaned towards him and winked. "Beautiful?" he interrupted.

Bolin threw his hands up in alarm. "A great friend!" He quickly added, cursing that his cheeks reddened so easily. 

"Bo', I've been around for a while, I can see it." the hobo cackled as he wagged his finger.

"Well I'm not going to ruin anything by asking her." he paused. "Yet, anyway."

"So, Gommu, what do you think of the Wolf-bats?" He asked innocently.

"Cheaters. People like that don't stay at the top for long."

"So you think we'll win?"

"Eh, what an old hobo thinks doesn't matter. Just get out there and win for yourself."

"As usual Gommu, you stun me with your words of wisdom."

"I'm a natural stunner!"

Bolin looked down at his watch, only to find it was 3:30 already and scratched the back of his head. "Damn, I've got to gotta head home and get ready!" he turned to walk down the path leading out of the park. He stopped and turned around to give the wise old hob his bag of corn. "Here."

"Oh, thanks kid. Good luck at the game!" He gave Pabu a scratch on the chin. "See ya, little guy!" he said with a cheery smile.

Pabu purred and chittered as Bolin turned to head back to the hail point. He glanced back, seeing the vagabond dive back into his meticulously well kept bush.

Shaking his head he continued forwards, passing food vendors and performers as he went, occasionally he gave them a few coins, confident that he wouldn't miss them. A mid afternoon breeze ran over him, making him shiver little as he thought longingly of buying that brown and pale green long coat he saw in Kalik's clothing store.

The greenery ended abruptly, giving way to a road ahead of him, a few automobiles used the privileged track, while alongside them rickshaws and bikes that far outnumbered them waited and moved back and forth. He hadn't needed to wait for long, when a eye searingly yellow cab pulled up in front of him. He climbed in, glancing at the driver and noticing how wide the man's hat was, enough to cover his face in darkness.

The driver's open hand hovered in front of him. Bolin rummaged through his coin pouch, fishing out a few silver yuans. He deposited them in the driver's hand, and it snapped back, expertly placing the coins in a box before settling back on the wheel.

He looked at the mirror, watching the man's - unsettling - eyes bore into him, which made him speak quickly. "The pro-bending arena - uh - thank you Yue bay. Heh."

The car rocked slightly as it shifted into motion, the man deftly guiding it into a space in the traffic. He relaxed for a bit. Watching the sun slowly dip down under the horizon. Soon enough the massive green sea flashing by was awash with bright orange sunlight, as the day began to turn to night. He scratched Pabu absent mindedly. He watched the scenery of tall apartments, squat little stores, and the distant soaring spires of the Ta-Shan towers pass by quickly, then at a crawl as the car began to slow down.

He craned his head, seeing with dread the massive line of cars ahead of them. And how it wasn't moving. He sighed and tipped his head back, eye's closing as he decided to nap for a bit...

The Taxi's horn blared, waking him violently. He glanced at the mirror, dreading his mistake as the driver's eyes bore into his soul. He quickly got out of the car, barely getting his foot out before it sped off to rejoin the flow of cars. Pabu yawned and stretched as he lay on his shoulders.

He made his away across the pier, moving out of the way as workers and laborers prepared the grounds for tonight. A few called out encouragements to him, which he took in stride, while a minority heckled him, trying to psyche him out before the game. When did that ever work? He entered the golden building through the main entrance, the sounds of his feet on the plush red carpet carrying through the cavernous lobby. He headed past the empty ticketing booth, going down the main corridor that ran the perimeter of the structure.

The corridor turned as it met the building's corner, and he continued forwards. He saw doors on either side of him, set into the walls. After passing a heavy pair of brown doors that led to the arena proper, he took the stairs next to them, going up five flights of stairs before reaching the top floor. The corridor up here mirrored the main one below, but wasn't nearly as ostentatious, the walls had thick cables running along them, and the wooden planks that made up the floor creaked with almost every step.

The entrance to one of the bay-side corner towers lay down to his right. He reached it, unlocking the wooden door with his key. Pushing it open he stepped through, finding himself in front of a sturdy ladder. He climbed up, with Pabu clinging to his shoulders for balance. He came to a hatch, opening it with a click.

His head poked above the wooden flooring of the attic, almost level with the couches across from him. He continued climbing for a bit before lifting himself off from the ladder and stepping down onto the floorboards. He flopped down onto the end of a couch, wondering what he was going to do for an hour so before the others met him at their ready room.

The boy made his decision quickly and stood up to make his way towards the ladder heading back down, locking it behind him. Reaching the bottom of the little tower he headed straight, going for a massive staircase that went down deeper then the six floors, ending at a huge sliding door.

He pushed it aside, stepping into the gym. He went over to a brown sack sitting next to a bench close by. He hefted it without too much effort over his shoulder, walking carefully to the center of one of the pale red training spaces. He dropped it and some for its contents fell out of the open top. Brown discs about the size of Bolin's fist tumbled out, each one with a square hole punching through the center.

 

* * *

_Air Temple Island, Republic City._

A little brown radio sat on a table nearby, blaring music through its tinny speakers. It watched as two teens faced each other, the girl on the left holding a leather ball in her hands. She threw the heavy brown ball at him, catching him on the chest as he attempted a dodging spin to the right. He staggered back, losing his footing as his balance was knocked off. He grunted as he caught the ball before it dropped to the stone brickwork.

"So that's zone 3?" he asked.

She nodded with s smirk visible behind her helmet's faceplate. "Yeah, usually the round's lost by that point." she twisted out of the way of his toss effortlessly. "Unless I'm on the team."

He nodded rigidly, settling into a low stance as he waited for the next throw. "I guess the wolf bats won't have a chance tonight huh?" he pulled his right foot back, presenting the side of his body briefly before leaning back with his arms stretched out in front of him. The ball slammed into his hands, spinning him a little as he took the strain.

The girl held her arms out, waiting for his throw. "You can count on that." she grunted a little as the ball caught her on the shoulder, before she was able to dodge in time. She yelped a little rubbed the shoulder it hit, throwing him a dark look.

A smug grin answered her. "Going by what your saying, these wolf bat guys sound dodgy. I'd expect a lot of dirty tricks tonight if I were you."

"I'll take it under advisement." her eyes were narrowed as she spun the ball around, passing it behind and around her body to keep the boy guessing.

He shrugged. "It's sound advice."

She gave him the stink-eye, pointing her pinky and index at him at the same time.

The ball continued it's journey back and forth between them, their throws becoming more and more elaborate. Their dodges more akin to dance moves. Korra moved like water to avoid his throws, and surged forward with a powerful one of her own, she dealt in decisive and practical throws, although they still had a little flair to them.

Tai was a little different, he bent every which way possibly to dodge, while managing to stay in the exact same spot, only needing to dodge to the side when Korra threw it at his sensitive parts. That was survival instinct right there. When he acted he did it with a flurry, using quick throws and tosses, often feinting a throw to catch her off-guard. He was a lot more agile then she was.

"Right! Bending time!" Korra shouted suddenly, chucking the ball to the side and stomping her right foot. A chunk of earth rose up in front of her, and she punched forwards, sending it flying at Tai's chest.

"Wha-" the missile exploded into dust as it impacted, sending him flying back three meters, tumbling to the ground. He coughed and sputtered as he got back up, only for a glob of water to be flung towards him. He reacted, dodging to the side, unleashing a flurry of air punches.

Korra had to dodge them, and couldn't send any more attacks against him. A kick of air got her in the stomach, causing her to stumble back. She recovered quickly, sidestepping and summoning a ball of fire in front of her right fist. She threw it forwards, and it roared towards his legs.

He hopped over it, and dropped low, sending a sweeping gust of air at her feet. A wall of earth rose up in front of it, causing it to dissipate quickly. He sprang up, catching a earthen disk in the chest, nearly knocking him off of his feet. He recovered, spinning around and sweeping his arms out in front of him to sending several powerful bursts of winds at her. She had difficulty dodging them, her eyes darting frantically as they tried to locate the masses of air.

The first one buffeted her side, sending her spinning to the left a bit. She regained her balance, and saw the second one coming at her. She rolled to the side, springing up and unleashing a flurry of water missiles.

They smacked into him all at once, sending him rolling back. Korra grinned and swung her arm upwards, merging the separate parts into a single whole, it rocketed up into his chin, putting him down for the count. She stood there, a hand on her hip as her chest heaved. He groaned as he found out for the umpteenth time why the body doesn't appreciate rough treatment.

"You had me going for a bit there." He heard her as if she was far away, and speaking through a three-thick layer of canvas padding.

The act of seeing hurt a lot, so he kept his eyes shut for a bit, moaning pitifully. Her hand appeared above him and he accepted it, grunting painfully as he raised his hand to grab hers. Fleetingly, he thought back to being thrown against a window, but immediately dispelled it.

Korra had a smile on her and a twinkle in her eye as he managed to stand, swaying unsteadily. "Did that hurt?"

"Oh no, things get thrown at me all the time, water won't get me down." He doubled over in pain. "Owwwww."

She laughed, giving him a slap on the back. "I hit hard, remember that."

"Will do."

The music on the radio faded away, replaced by a cherry voice. "Hello, Republic City! Lan here with the latest updates from all over town!"

As it droned on about rumors, mysterious sightings, and stories of fantastic weapons that can throw fire mechanically, they tossed the ball between them absent mindedly.

"-and it's coming up to 5:00PM, so better get ready! The game tonight's to die for." The voice changed into a cacophony of instruments and sounds.

"Damn. I've got to get going. Thanks for helping me train."

"No problem."

"You coming to watch tonight?" she asked suddenly.

He hesitated, not knowing how to deal with something like this. He found his eyes wandering all over the place as he searched for an answer, and he fought to stop them from settling on her chest. "Uh, sure!"

"Great!"

They heard a commotion in the house. "Meelo! You give that back right now!" a stern voice said.

The younger voice said something entirely different. "Vroom-vroom! Gliding!"

Tai felt apprehension for what was about to come barreling out of that doorway. Meelo ran outside, hefting a orange and red glider above his head. He ran in circles, making strange noises. He sighed and made a gesture with his hand.

The glider floated away from the boy's grasp over to his, snatched away by the wind. Tenzin came storming out towards them, his eyes focusing on Meelo. He stopped abrubtly, noticing the glider wasn't with his youngest son.

The bald boy's eyes began to water, and his lip quivered as he realized what had happened. The waterworks began, starting up with a bawling whimper and cruising with a ear piercing wail.

Tenzin winced, trying to think of something that would calm him down. He looked to Tai and suddenly got an idea in his head. He drew himself up to his full height, adopting a stern face, and sent a gust of air at his student's chest.

As the blast approached him, realization dawned in Tai's mind. "Oh reall-" the glider clattered to the ground as the wind slammed into the boy, sending him rolling back three meters. He managed to get his hands untangled from his body, and quickly pushed himself out of the roll with a gust of air.

He alighted back onto his feet, giving Tenzin a very dirty look. His new master shrugged. "Just testing your reflexes, needs a bit of work."

Tai opened his mouth to say something when Korra spoke up. "Ready to go, Tenzin?"

"Indeed Korra. I'll be ready soon." he inclined his head.

He had a question to ask. "Don't suppose I can come along?"

His chances burned when Tenzin immediately looked at him. "Absolutely not. You need to stay on the island for protection."

"Why?"

"So Amon can't find you, and so you can't get up to any trouble." he explained, about to turn around to head back inside before he noticed the dark look on the boy.

"What makes you think he's looking for me?" Tai growled.

"You infiltrated a heavily guarded compound and managed to strike at him, that's something for him to consider." he said matter-of-factly.

Inside he agreed, he was right. Still didn't like it though. "Good point." he said, sighing as his shoulders sagged. He looked at Korra. "Guess I've got plans. Sorry." He really was, where he came from was remote and not easily accessible to travelers, so Pro-Bending was something he had only heard from a passing traveler's radio, not something he got to experience firsthand. 

"Not to worry, you'll have Meelo and the two girls for company." she chuckled as she took off the helmet, slapping a few strands of rebellious hair down as she fixed him with a smirk.

Sarcasm was on the boy's mind. "Yay."

Tenzin came back outside, being dragged down by a young, brown haired girl tugging on his arm and planting her heels in the dirt to stop him from shaking her off. "Why can't I come Daddy?" she whined

He sighed, "Because I'm only going as the city council's representative."

"You told me it was to keep Korra out of trouble." Jinora lowered the thick book as she walked towards them, giving her dad a cheery smile.

"And to do that as well Jinora. And that is why you can't come Ikki." he sighed as the child nodded rigidly. She scrunched her face up in annoyance, and crossed her arms with an disappointed groan. Tenzin patted his daughter on the head and gestured for Korra. "Time to go."

The bison rumbled as Tenzin and Korra climbed onto its saddle. With a whoosh of air it ascended , and flew away from the little island, and towards the bright beacon that was the pro bending arena. The three siblings looked after them for a while, watching the flying Bison become smaller and smaller as it neared the mainland.

Suddenly they all looked at Tai, who felt very self conscious and decided he would love the indoors.Before he could move Ikki ran towards his legs, poking and prodding them as she held a curious look on her face. Meelo picked his nose as he watched him. Jinora chuckled as she held the book back up, settling onto a rock nearby despite him giving her a desperate look. Help.

* * *

 

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	3. Response

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the enigmatic boy settles into life at Air Temple Island, Amon starts his revolution with a bang, attacking both the Island and the Pro-Bending Arena at the same time.

 

潮

* * *

_Air Temple Island._

"Ow." said the enigmatic teenage prodigy, making his discontent perfectly clear that this was not how he thought his first day on the island would turn out.

"WHEEE-AHHHHH!" shouted the hyperactive and constantly moving toddler, deafening Tai's ears a little.

"This is fun!" said his older yet equally hyperactive sister, from her perch wrapped around one of his legs.

Meelo was perched on the older boy's shoulders, his short legs dangling in front of him as he held onto fistfuls of the boy's hair trying to steer him around like a car. Tai was slightly hunched over and was too overpowered to resist. Mainly because of the little girl wrapped around his left shin.

Jinora sat cross-legged on a flat rock nearby, flipping over another page in her book as she chuckled to herself.

As he was spun around by the two children, he threw a dirty glance at Jinora. "I- agh -see you won't help in any way?"

"They like you, and it's fun to watch." as she said this, she tilted her head slowly to the side, adopting a cat-like grin that betrayed the cunning evil within.

"Why does this happen to me?" he groaned, wondering is it really was a good idea to accept the old guy's invitation.

Meelo slapped him in the head, bringing him out of his thought with grumbled and glared at the boy as best he could. "You're an airbender, why aren't you having fun!"

"I have different ideas of fun, Meelo." the child laughed as his grip tightened on Tai's hair.

The girl clinging onto his leg looked up at him, a question forming. "Yeah, you aren't very fun!"

"I can be fun! Just let me go and I'll show you my kind of _fun_." He put on a cheery smile as thoughts of violence and mayhem ran through him.

They momentarily stopped what they were doing, and looked at each other, the boy sighed, glad the ordeal was over. But it wasn't to be, suddenly the assault renewed, and he had to grit his teeth and bare it.

"Kids! Dinner!" a voice called from inside the main building. They dropped from him instantly, running towards the warm glow of the house's interior.

Jinora closed the book and got off the rock, walking after them. "Come on, Tai."

He dusted himself off, gingerly rubbing the spots of abuse where Meelo had purchase as he followed her into a narrow hall, with the floor made of polished wooden boards. The walls were a warm creamy white with dark brown beams lining them. He followed Jinora through a sliding door left of the entrance outside, walking into a large rectangular space with the central part of the floor covered by a low-lying table, currently Pema and the two younger siblings were sitting at it. In front of them was a massive bowl of broth, with chunks of vegetables and meat lazily drifting on its surface as they traced hazy lines.

Meelo was staring at the massive bowl, while Pema was busy spooning it out to their bowls. Jinora slid her bowl over to it, and Tai did the same uncertainly. Once all bowls were full, she filled her own, sighing with content as she sat back down onto her seat. Meelo slurped his soup noisily, getting a few laughs from Ikki, who was busy dissolving pieces of bread into hers.

Jinora sipped hers gracefully, Tai was cautious, taking a few spoonfuls every now and then. He watched as Jinora broke off a piece of bread, dunking it into her bowl and chewing at the end.

"Jinora, can you pass the bread?" he asked quietly, not wanting to raise his voice in the quiet room.

She nodded cheerily and slid the loaf over to him, he grabbed the knife laid next to his bowl and cut off a moderate slice of the loaf. He slid it back to its original position, then folded his slice and dunked it into his bowl to let it begin soaking up the juice.

"Hey Tai, how'd you get to republic city?" he stopped, spoon raised halfway to his waiting mouth. Jinora had put down her book, and was looking at him with curiosity.

"I walked." he explained with as few words as possible, trying to signal that she should probably ask him questions about other stuff. Like airbending. He knew a lot about airbending. 

"Where from?" she asked, this time tilting her head and giving him a curious grin.

"The Kamang mountains, up north." he answered, thankful for something that he could answer.

"Wait, you walked all of that way?" Ikki interrupted, her hands on the table as she stared at him, a bajillion questions about to come spewing out.

"Pretty much, stopped at a few villages and towns along the way when I couldn't go any further."

"So why did you come?" Jinora asked, continuing her innocent little interrogation of him.

"I'm looking for someone." he said with a frosty tone, trying to get her to drop the questions.

Pema noticed this and fixed her oldest daughter with a cheery grin. "I think that's enough for now sweetie. Maybe he'll tell you later. Ask nicely."

"Okay mom!" she said brightly, going back to her soup in an instant.

The knots in Tai's stomach released a little as she stopped questioning him. Good, don't want to get into that now, possibly never.

They all continued eating, moments of quietness punctuated by Meelo or Ikki laughing as they made a mess or funny shape with their bread. Pema sighed as she watched them do this, a tired smile on her face. With a clatter Meelo had finished his bowl, smacking his lips and running off goodness knows where. Ikki followed him, presumably to watch his antics.

She sighed again as Jinora and Tai finished their bowls. "I've got to teach them how to sit still."

Jinora grinned at her over the top of the book. "Mom, I don't think that's possible."

She sighed even more despondently. "I know."

Tai had emptied his bowl, and deposited the knife and spoon in it, placing them on top of the plate that had held his slices. "I'll help clean up." He offered.

"Oh. Thanks Tai." she beamed as he placed her bowl on top of the stack. Jinora offered Pema her empty bowl and plate, helping her gather Ikki and Meelo's into a stack. Tai placed his on top, and grabbed the whole thing.

Jinora went to leave the room. "That was good soup mom."

"Thanks honey."

She disappeared into the main hallway, heading upstairs to her room.

"Where can we clean these?" he asked, keeping a careful eye on the swaying stack.

"Follow me." Pema walked off through a doorway in the other direction, with Tai trailing behind trying to balance the pile. It opened onto another hallway, this one much smaller than the other one, close by was a sliding door, which she slid open and headed through. Tai followed her into a kitchen area, the walls had brown wooden panelling and the room was dominated by two long benchs, a shorter one ran parallel to them, a sink built into it. She turned the hot tap, opening the pipes for hot water to stream through, coming out of the tap and splashing down onto the bottom of the basin. She grabbed a cloth.

"Over here Tai." She pointed to a space on the bench left of the sink. Tai nodded, carefully placing the pile down, quickly stopping the bowl on top from falling off. She took it from him and placed it under the running water, washing the dregs of soup into the drain. She placed it on the rack that dominated the right of the sink.

Tai grabbed a tea towel from a hanger nearby and wiped it all over the bowl, drying up excess liquid and it leaving dry and ready to go back into the cupboard.

"Thanks for the help, Tai."

"Don't worry about it, I'm usually stuck doing it wherever I go." he said, quickly realizing that he was being drawn into revealing stuff about his past again. He quickly changed the topic. "So, your fourth child?"

"Yes, I've got my fingers crossed she won't be a bender." she admitted, grunting a little as she moved the wrong way. He glanced at her with a worried look before she smiled reassuringly.

He nodded and accepted the next bowl from her, swishing the tea towel inside it as he arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong with bending?"

"Nothing!" She said quickly, before letting off a little sigh. "Well, having three kids who control the wind can be very stressful sometimes."

"That's a good point." he conceded, placing the bowl on the counter, ready to go back in the cupborad.

"Tenzin said that too." she chuckled.

"So…know what I can expect from him in training?"

She finished rinsing a spoon under the hot blast of water, and placed it on the sink in front of him. She smirked as she glanced at him. "Lots of bruises, lots of broken bones, and tears."

The boy shrugged. "I've dealt with it before." he said, getting a strange look in his eye. He shook it off as she glanced at him with concern.

"I thought you would have."

"Yeah." he murmured.

They continued washing the bowls and cutlery in silence, punctuated by Tai opening the cabinet nearby to place them in. He heard Pema curse softly. "We left the soup pot on the table, Tai can you please empty it outside and bring it back to me?"

"Sure can." he placed the tea towel on the counter as he took a few steps towards the door, before she spoke up again.

"Don't take too long."

"Okay." he closed the cupboard, placing the tea towel near Pema. He walked back into the dining room towards the table. He grabbed the heavy soup bowl with a grunt, and held it flat in front of him. Slowly, he walked out into the main corridor, going back outside.

The stars were shining now, and studded the black night sky as they twinkled with a brilliance quite unlike anything else. He ignored the spectacle and focused on tipping the soup into a drain nearby. As the soup fell past the thick iron grates he heard a chattering sound nearby. He turned to look at the commotion, noticing a small white creature sitting on the ground nearby, watching him with massive green eyes. It had massive ears which hung to its waist, and it sniffed the sweet aroma of the soup being tipped with a tiny black nose. It moved forward a bit on two thin and long arms, resting on its knuckles.

Tai shrugged and stopped tipping the soup away. Better it goes to someone in need than down the drain he reasoned. He set the bowl down in front of his feet, and nudged it gently towards the small creature. It sniffed vigorously and eyed him for a split second before dashing forward, lapping at the warm mixture and chattering loudly.

He leant back against a corner support, watching the stars while waiting for his furry friend to finish his job for him. He hadn't had a chance to stop and actually think about where he was until now. He was certainly in a better way than before, now he actually had a place to stay, a teacher to train with, and dare he say it, people who'd back him up. He wasn't sure, but he thought he made a friend in Jinora, Pema, and Korra. And he was intent on keeping it going.

And yet… he still wasn't satisfied, he hadn't done what he came to the city for, the bastard was still breathing, and Tai knew he wouldn't be able to rest until he had ended him. He needed training though, and he accepted that.

The bowl clattered, drawing his attention. Some of the soup was left behind, making Tai shrug. He picked it up, tipping the remainder down the drown and turning to head back inside.

A noise, or rather, the absence of noise stopped him. There was nothing, no chattering, no laughter from the sentries quarters, nothing. Just the lonely wind which blew constantly over the island. He heard a crash inside, and dropped the bowl, charging towards the warm light of the doorway. A masked figure greeted him, he didn't show his surprise, merely dropping into a sliding kick the first chance he got.

The masked man was too slow to dodge it, and was thrown to the floor; he tried to get up, warranting a punch in the face to knock him out. He recognized the green lenses and brown material. Equalists.

Stopping for a moment, he noticed the house was completely silent, not good. He ran down the hallway, turning left towards the kitchen door. He was about to enter when a arm slammed into his face, he spluttered and coughed as he tipped back, landing with a crash on his back.

Pema peered around the doorway, a look of savage triumph on her. It soon changed to a sheepish look as she realised who she had just whammed. 

As he lay there on the floor, Tai was mumbling. "How much abuse does my face need to take?..."

"Tai! Sorry about that!" she winced as she helped him up, looking a little embarassed.

"No problem happens all the time." he said quickly as his head rang. How many are there?"

"I have no clue, and I don't know where they are or what they're after."

"I'll see if I can takedown a few, Pema, can you stay here please?"

"I can't sit here while my kids are still out there-" she began to argue when he cut her off with a knowing smile.

"I know that, and I'll be quick." he backed out of the room and stalked back down the hallway, rubbing the large red welt on his cheek. He ran up the staircase, trying to draw attention to himself. Four corridors stretched away from him as he reached the top of the stairs. He looked down the closest one, and saw a gloved hand holding onto the open windowsill, nearly invisible against the dark treeline.

He ran forward, just as another equalist came into view, flipping over the windowsill and flinging a smoke grenade at him, he ducked as it whizzed over his head, and clattered down the other end of the hallway. Tai came back up, kicking him in the stomach, there was no reaction as the equalist grabbed his leg and spun him around, flinging him to the floor. Tai rolled quickly, watching a eskrima stick slam into the floorboards where his head was, he raised himself up and swept his leg around, catching his feet and dragging the equalist to the floor. He sprang up, and kicked the man in the face, his body went limp and he slackened.

Tai threw the door nearby open, hoping to find Jinora inside. The room was devoid of life, and with a curse he went back towards the stairs, only to see the door in the opposite hallway fling open. Another equalist was thrown into the hallway, crashing into the wall with a sigh.

Jinora flipped a loose strand of hair out of her face, holding onto a staff with the other as she walked out into the hallway.

"Jinora!" he called out as he ran towards her.

"Tai! What's going on?"

"Amon's goons. Do you know here Ikki and Meelo ran to?"

"I saw them from my window, they were going towards the training area."

Tai faltered. "Ca-can you show me?"

Jinora rolled her eyes, heading downstairs. "Come on."

Tai followed her down into the main hallway, heading past the empty dining room. They reached the front door.

"Take the left path here and keep going, you'll know its the right way when there's a bamboo forest around you, the path will open onto a clearing, that's the training area.

She took a step outside when Tai halted her. "You need to stay here with your mom."

"Ikki and Meelo are over there!" she complained, gaining a hard edge to her eyes as she looked at him.

"There's no need for you come along." he said quickly, checking the straps on his sheath.

"They're my brother and sister-" she hissed.

"These guys are professionally trained and equipped!" He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration for a few moments, before sighing and squatting down to her level. "I won't go into it, but I've dealt with them before. They won't hesitate to hurt you, Jinora!" He wasn't kidding, he barely scraped through against them himself. "Look. Stay here for now. Your mother needs you."

"I-" her protests died away as she thought rationally about it. "Okay." 

Tai ran outside, "I'll be back with them soon!"

He took the path Jinora described, his breathing audible as he pumped his arms to get speed. As he ran he noticed shadowy shapes moving in the forest and landscape nearby. His eyes narrowed as he ran past the first of a massive thicket of bamboo stalks. He kept on going, following a bend in the path as it went right.

It straightened and widened into a circular space. In the open space ahead was raised circular dais, a maze of boards, decorated with ancient air nomad insignia and writing, covered the top. They were the focus of the area, and he saw three equalists advancing towards them.

Suddenly a line of gates on one side spun furiously as the air around them was whipped into a fury, it blasted outwards, catching one of them in the chest and flinging him away.

The other two equalists advanced cautiously, grabbing smoke grenades from their belts. Tai ran faster, making as much noise as possible to draw them away from the dais. The one closest to him turned around and threw the silver canister at him. He swiped his right arm outwards, using a gust of air to send the grenade tumbling away from him. The equalist ran towards him, drawing a long black staff in the process. The head of the staff was aiming for his head, he ducked, dashing forward with a blast of air for help. The staff dropped from the Equalist's hands, and at the same time Tai's side burned as he felt several jabs land in quick succession.

He growled turning towards his agile foe to direct a blast at him. His arm stung all over as his nerves felt like fire. He cried out and twisted over in pain, giving the equalist an opening to step back from him. He found himself facing the discarded staff, and went for it, throwing it at the equalist. It found nothing but air as it clattered on the ground near the other one.

He turned, distracted momentarily by the weapon. Suddenly the gates were spun around again as a massive wind-blast drove into him, picking him up and throwing him to the edge of the clearing. The boy heard a cheer come from within the forest of gates, but couldn't focus on it. The burning had died down and he sprang back up, putting his all into a massive sweeping arc of fire. It slammed into his enemy, scorching the leather armor and sending him crashing to the ground, unconscious and beaten.

His chest heaved a little as he ran towards the dais. He saw the gates starting to spin furiously again. And he held his arms up. "Guys! It's Tai!"

They slowed to a halt, and he heard a clattering and shaking as the two children came out towards him. The two of them were on edge, and he had to calm them down. "Hey." he knelt down to their height, looking them in the eyes. "It's fine, they're knocked out cold, and I think that was all of them."

He whipped his head around as he heard shouting and saw the light of a lantern cast long shadows into the bamboo stalks. Three men dressed in blue and white armor ran into the clearing, and they all had a curious look on them.

"What happened here?" the lead one, a stocky and solidly built man asked. His stern green eyes boring into Tai.

"Three of them tried to ambush Ikki and Meelo. They failed." he explained, nodding his head at the two unsconscious blockers nearby.

The short man nodded. "Police will be here soon to take them away."

"What's going on?"

"They've finally decided to break cover, key spots all over the city have reports of masked figures attacking citizens, primarily benders. Arenas been hit the hardest though."

Wait. The Arena? "I've got to get over there!" he said as he straightened.

In response, the stocky man rolled his eyes as he muttered something under his breath. He looked straight into the boy's eyes. "Unless you're a water bender, I don't see that happening, kid."

Tai rolled his eyes and walked forwards, before stopping and looking back at Meelo and Ikki. "These guys will take you to the house, Jinora and Pema are there."

"What about you?" Ikki asked.

"I've got a match to be at." he nodded to the White Lotus guards, and dashed back down the path. A million thoughts were racing through his head, most of these were centered around a burning revenge, while surprisingly a fair few were centered around concern.

He shook his head clear, trying to focus on the reason he came to the city for. He cleared the bamboo, and ran past the house. He stopped for a moment, noticing the folded glider that was leaning against a corner post. Tenzin must have left it behind. He grabbed it without a thought, and looked around for the highest point on the island. There was a massive hill that rose up nearby, casting its shadow over a meticulously kept garden.

The boy ran along a path that cut straight through the garden. And followed it up, running up the incline towards the crest of the hill. Once the ground leveled out, he found himself staring at a sea of stars above, absolutely stunning in their brilliance.

He looked out towards the bright lights of the city noticing a few plumes of smoke intermingled among the warm yellow glow. He saw the golden arena standing on the other side of a long pier from the rest of the city, hosting the largest smoke plume of all. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and shook the glider, it opened out, forming a fan like shape. At he remembered those lessons from his childhood.

Holding onto a crossbeam at the front of the glider with his right hand he ran forwards, forming a cushion of air underneath him with his left. The ground dropped away as the compressed air rushed upwards. As he began to fall back to earth he grabbed onto the glider with both hands now, and directed his bending through it.

He glided across the dark waters of yue bay, heading towards the Pro Bending Arena.

* * *

_Pro-Bending Arena._

The lower parts of the platform holding the arena were a maze of piers and tunnels, almost impossible to navigate without a map. On a walkway hugging the eastern face sat two equalists.

"Sounds pretty rough in there." Lagi said.

Maro had his arms crossed, watching the waters lap against the poles beneath them. "It does." he squinted, noticing a tiny imperfection in his view of the bay.

"He's getting serious about our goals. Had to happen sooner or later." his partner said, kicking a loose piece of wood nearby.

"Hmm." he thoughtfully answered, injecting all of his views and values into the sound.

"Did we need to do what we did back there?" Lagi asked suddenly, referring to the burning police boats that encircled the arena.

"Amon's orders. He says we do it, then we do it." he mechanically responded, not wanting to dwell on what they were forced to do to get here.

"Alright." his young partner said with a dejected tone. The imperfection grew larger, and he thought he could see a trail of disturbed water under it. "I should get a souvenir while I'm here, for Nari."

"Is that really a priority?" the tone of incredulity clear in his voice.

Lagi shrugged. "We are stuck watching a empty walkway."

Maro actually thought that was a good point. "Lieutenant told us to keep watch down here and we will."

"You can cover for me can't you?"

Maro sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea Lag-" Something dropped into the water in front of them, spraying them with froth.

Lagi stopped what he was doing, and got up immediately. He looked over at Maro with a question. Maro shook his head as he walked towards the edge of the walkway, unclipping a few bolas from his belt.

The surface of the water broke, and the green goggles of the lieutenant were looking at them. The rest of his body followed, and he swam to the posts. He climbed up them with no effort, and looked at the two equalists. "We're leaving." he calmly stated.

The sound of rushing wind reached them, and as one they all turned around to face the sea. A figure hanging onto a orange wing flew towards them at a frightening speed, the glider twisted as it passed between them, heading up to the surface level of the platform.

"It's him." The lieutenant pointed upwards, and left them, running up a stairwell nearby. Maro and Lagi looked at each other, and followed him.

Tai dropped onto the pavement with a thud. He hid the glider behind an abandoned stand, and ran towards the arena. As he got closer he heard the crackle of fires burning, and screams of people trapped inside. He tried to put it out of mind, and failed. Gritting his teeth he ran alongside the side of the arena, trying to find a way up that would get him to the top of the glass dome.

He stopped as he found a way up. He saw the beginning of a balcony stretching a long way down the length of the building, with another above it doing the same thing. About seventy meters above it was the edge of the arena's roof. He used a push of air to get him within reach of the balcony, he held his arm out towards the rail lining, managing to get a good grip on it. Holding himself up with one had wasn't doable for long, so he swung himself up onto it, now hugging the rail with his entire body. He cautiously stood up, preparing to hoist himself up to the second balcony, one more push of air and he got a hold on the bottom of it. Quickly he used another push to get himself higher, tumbling awkwardly over the rail and onto the floor.

From here he had a clear way to the roof. He didn't hang around for any doors to open, he ran towards the wall and sprang upwards, his hands getting a hold on a pipe running to the top. He climbed up it, the metal clanging slightly as it held his weight. With a grunt of effort he grabbed onto the edge, dangling for a moment before he pulled himself up quietly.

He rolled before getting up, and was treated to a spectacle. Above the arena hung a airship, different in style and theme to the ones issued to the police. He guessed that it was probably stolen from them, repainted and modified enough to be a completely different variant. The balloon which held the helium mix had a crimson skin, with the equalist symbol plastered on the bottom. A steel box clung to the bottom of the baloon, and its windows glowed from the inside with warm orange light. He saw four cables dangling from it, and saw a familiar figure falling in between them towards the dome.

"Damn!" he ran towards the now broken glass dome, only to be waylaid by a familiar stinging sensation in his back, he fell forwards onto the cement, gritting his teeth in pain.

Him again. The boy rolled back up and turned around, facing the man from the steam tunnel. He ran forwards, using a blast of fire to deter a frontal hit, the masked man dodged it by rolling to the side, and drove at him with the other stick. He threw himself backwards, seeing the sparking tip of the weapon brush against his cuff. The man responded with a vicious kick to his side, and Tai tried to twist out of the way, and tried to grab his boot. He got a weak hold, and wrenched it away from him, so that it hit thin air.

The man pulled it back, now on two feet again, he used the moment to step into a half-spin, retaliating with his other foot. This one connected properly, hitting him on the chest.

The air was taken from his lungs as he was flung away by the force. He gasped for air, and moved his hands in a circular gesture, using a technique to get oxygen into him quickly. He felt a horrible drowning sensation as air was shoved down his throat. Shaking his head he got back up, and threw his arms out from him. The lieutenant had both batons at this point, and was running towards him. Tai smirked and brought them together, creating a massive blast of fire that streamed towards his foe. The Lieutenant couldn't get away in time, and was thrown five meters by the impact.

With his opponent taken care of for the moment he looked back at the airship, the cables were retracting slowly, as two blockers made a mad dash for them. He shook his head as a aching sensation made itself known and hissed as his arm began to hurt terribly, he cradled it against his chest and limped towards the dome. He looked around it, trying to find a sign of Korra. Nothing.

He saw a stairwell nearby and headed towards it. Taking the steps two at a time. The door at the bottom was locked, he growled, blowing the door off of its hinges with a uncontrolled gust of air. He stepped through, nudging aside a few fragments as he did so. The hallway it connected to was a absolute wreck, the wall that ran opposite where he stood was gone, replaced with a massive rent that revealed the support structure of the arena seats. In front of him was a bare rectangular tunnel, cutting through the seats and opening out at the other side of them. He heard a massive chorus of voices from the arena, some were crying, others were angry, and all were terrified.

He limped through the tunnel, keeping his bad arm steady as he approached the other end. He emerged from it, blinking rapidly as his eyes adjusted to the bright floodlights dominating his vision. He looked to his left, and groaned inwardly.

"Following trouble?"

The boy thought about giving her the silent treatment again, he was certain she wouldn't rough him up in public...maybe? He decided against it, couldn't be bothered. "I thought he'd be here."

"Yeah well, you just missed him, he escaped in the airship." she sighed. "He played me."

Tenzin walked over to them, with Korra following. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Lin, stop blaming yourself."

"Why not? I forced the council to make a decision, and look what happened. A damn crisis."

"We'll catch him, and put a stop to his plans."

"I was hoping for something more grounded than that." she grumbled.

“I'm a airbender, grounded isn’t my thing." the stoic man fought to keep the smirk from forming, since two impressionable students of his were nearby.

"Funny, Tenzin." she made a stink face at him before looking down at the floor, her shoulders sagging as she sighed.

Tenzin looked at Tai. "I thought I told you to stay on the island?"

"The equalists were there-" Tenzin tried to interrupt. "-They're fine. Master."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

A lance of pain drove up the boy's side. His hand shot to it as he gritted his teeth.

Korra looked concerned for a second, before giving him a smirk. "Who roughed you up on the way here?"

"Some guy who loves using sticks to hit people."

"Him? I remember kicking him off the roof. He must have climbed back up to escape, did he reach the airship?"

"Nope, I left him lying there. He'll probably be back." he sighed.

A pair of metalbenders rushed up to them. They snapped off salutes at Tenzin and Lin. "Chief, we need some assistance out there."

Lin nodded. "I'll be there shortly." She nodded goodbyes to each of them, and left with the two officers through the tunnel.

Tenzin sighed, and his shoulders dropped with weariness.

"I take it we'll be going now?"

"You take it correctly, Korra. Let's go home."

Tai spoke up as he limped back through the tunnel with them. "Had enough of this place."

* * *

_Air Temple Island._

Oogi landed softly, and Tenzin dismounted first. He walked around to the bison's face, patting his nose as he grabbed the reins, steering him towards a cavernous stable nearby. Pema and the kids ran out of the house.

Jinora and Ikki got to him first, wrapping around him as he stroked Oogi's fur.

"Are you all alright?" he said with worry, calming down as they both nodded vigorously.

"We're fine, Daddy." Ikki buried her face into his shin.

"Tai helped us." Jinora stated.

He waved wearily at the two of them as he stood next to Korra.

Pema smiled at Tenzin. "How about you?"

"Just a few scratches, dear."

"That's what you always say."

"It's what I always get."

She chuckled and gave him a warm hug. "I'm glad you’re safe."

Korra tapped Tai's shoulder, beckoning for him to follow her. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" the boy asked, giving her a compulsion to roll her eyes.

"To sleep."

"I'm sorry?" he said, trying to hide the tone of amusement.

She punched him on the shoulder. "We have separate rooms idiot."

"Awesome..." he rubbed his shoulder as she led him up the path, past the fork that led to the training area. It hugged the edge of the bamboo thicket as it wound left. A wooden bridge over a small creek of clear water led to a group of four separate buildings came into view, each one about the size of the main house's dining room.

She went for the one closest to them on the right, and opened the sliding door. There wasn't much inside, apart from a few shelves lining the walls, and bed shoved up to the opposite wall. He looked out of a window near the bed, noticing an extremely large mass of pure white fur, it wriggled a bit, and he jumped back.

"That's Naga." she explained, rummaging through a cabinet for what she needed.

"He's cute."

She rolled her eyes at him. "She. Sit on the bed."

"If we have separate rooms, why am I here?"

She answered him with a stern point at the bed. He shrugged, and sat on it, failing to get comfortable on the hard material.

"Take off your coat." the girl ordered.

He obliged her, shrugging it off and handing it to her. She had the misfortune of sniffing it, and winced. "Thank the spirit we have a laundry." the boy scowled while she smirked. He was dressed in a simple grey shirt, with a dark red line tracing its way up the arms and to the neckline.

She looked him over, and nodded. "Off with the top."

Sighing, he took it off, placing it on top of his coat which sat on the floor.

He had a wiry, but fairly strong frame, his muscles were compact, and well toned. On his right side was a massive bruise which ran almost the entire length of his torso, ending just before his shoulder joint. His right arm dangled, in contrast to his left, which was held normally. Going down it was a trail of bruises and scrapes. She drew a stream of water out of her pouch. Moulding it like she did at the police station, she covered his wounds in it.

It glowed blue at the same time Tai felt sensation returning to his side. He heaved and breathed out, shooting a smile at Korra as no pain shot up his side. The bruises  slowly faded, leaving unmarred but very pale skin. The water flowed over to his arm next, absorbing into the mass there and speeding up the process, and soon enough before his eyes the bruises shrunk down to almost nothing, the scrapes and cuts grew smaller and formed into neat and shallow lines on his skin.

"Thanks." With as much sincerity as he could muster he said this, grateful that she would take the time to do something like this.

"I am the only one around here who can heal worth a damn, you know." she pulled him off of the bed and kept a hand on his shoulder as she steered him over towards the door.

"You aren't going to let me forget this, are you?" he sighed as she chuckled.

She gave him a wink. "Not as long as I live. Night." she steered him out of the room, giving him his clothing before sliding the door shut. He watched as the warm lights from the house shut off, leaving the moon's light free to dance across the island. He walked across to his room, opening the sliding door. It was fairly similar to Korra's room, which didn't surprise him that much. He dumped his clothes in a messy pile next to the door, and stumbled over to the bed. All of the events during the past few days had finally caught up with him.

He dropped down onto the hard mattress, burying his face into the pillow feeling very content. And was out like a light in short notice.

* * *

 

潮


	4. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Tarrlok's announcement, the boy begins his official lessons with Tenzin, who quickly learns there's more to him than just a vendetta against Amon.

潮

* * *

_Celestial Square, Republic City._

Republic City's city hall gleamed like a jewel in the early morning sun, it's white walls throwing off dazzling arrays of light onto the buildings around it. A massive blue dome sat on top, glowing with a fiery radiance as the sun's rays bounced inside of the glass structure.

A crowd, highlighted by camera flashes and shouting voices, bustled at the gates, which were enforced by a long line of metal bending officers. Past the massive intricately carved oak doors was a huge hall, resplendent with decadence and utterly and completely, gaudy beyond all reason.

A majority of the floor held rows of seats, most of which played host to reporters and journalists trying to pick up the early morning scoop. In front of them was a raised platform, on which a simply made microphone stand sat, indicating it wasn't native to the opulent palace. Behind it stood a slimy and calculating man, his blue eyes swarming with plans and deceit.

Tarrlok leant forwards over the stand, his hands held onto both sides for effect and for balance. "Although the Hundred Year War has long passed, we are not living in a time of peace." An absolutely deafening roar of questioning voices answered him, and cameras flashed furiously, having no effect against his politically-hardened eye.

He swept an arm out wide, grimly setting his mouth in a determined line. "These revolutionaries who call themselves 'Equalists' are not interested in equality at all. They just want to wage war against benders." The gathered reporters practically foamed at the mouth as they lapped up his words, their only focus being on the front page their story would get to.

The savvy Northern Triber allowed himself a tiny smirk at how easy it was woo over the crowd. "Chief Bei Fong was supposed to protect Republic City, but she was powerless to stop Amon's attack on the arena. She has failed us all. If we are to survive these dire times, our law enforcement needs new leadership."

They were practically putty in his hands now, they took in every word, while he smiled graciously and allowed them to voice their inane questions. A woman wearing a professionally cut business suit got there first. "Councillor, who do you recommend to replace the chief?"

He chuckled as if the question were a light-hearted joke. "I'm sure we can find a suitable replacement in the higher echelons of the police force, to live up to her reputation and quality."

Another reporter cut in, a raven-haired girl with striking amber eyes, who looked like she was just barely hitting twenty. She looked... interesting. "Councillor, is it true that you have been seeking Chief Bei Fong's position for some time?"

Behind his easy-going facade he ground his teeth, and scowled. On the outside he wore a smile that could crack the heavens themself "Absolutely not, Ms….?"

"Serisa."

"Seriso. I have never intended and never will intend on taking the position of chief of police, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the stomach for it." He laughed lightly, playing one of his best tricks.

The girl smirked and narrowed those striking eyes. "I don't believe that for one second Councillor."

Tarrlok made a mental note to remember her name, he would find out everything about her later on. He continued his laugh. "While I might be considered one of the candidates for the position, surely I'm at the bottom of the list."

The crowd of reporters chuckled as one, except for Serisa, who scowled. He turned his wiles to the crowd at large. "But if you will have me, then let it be known that I will accept the burdens and responsibilities of her office should it fall down to me. I would be honoured to serve." He finished with a bow and an absolutely sickening smile on his face.

He no longer cared about that reporter, instead waving and bowing In time for camera flashes. A short and weedy aide walked to his side. "Your car is ready, sir." He whispered.

Tarrlok clapped the man on the shoulder. And turned his attention back to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your time and curiosity, but I must leave now. Farewell, and may Republic City ever prosper!"

The chattering among them intensified and no-one noticed a single figure leave through the main doors, storming down the steps and out of the hall.

Tarrlok and his aide disappeared through a side door, leaving the crowd to stew. He walked down the glamorous hallway with a smile on his face, very pleased at how things were tipping ever closer to his favour. A man standing at attention saluted, and opened a door, which provided easy access to a hidden away entrance favoured by him. He loved using it to sneak up on the other councillors and it served him faithfully.

A fantastically detailed blue and white car awaited him; flowing trails of silver metal traced their way along its sides, melding into the front grill of the custom made vehicle, which gleamed like the full moon reflecting down on the ice near his childhood home. The hood ornament was again made of pure silver alloy, and was carved in the shape of a silver disc with lines swirling towards the center.

A man dressed in the black suit of a chauffeur inclined his head as Tarrlok and his aides approached. "Councillor. Where to?"

"The estate, Tangris, I have some affairs to sort out."

"As you wish." he respectfully bowed once more before pulling his door open, getting into the seat in one graceful movement.

Tarrlok waited until his door closed until doing the same. Once he was settled on the opposite seat, keeping the middle one between him and one of his senior aides, a tall and gangly youth with amber colored eyes and jet black hair. He handed him a stack of papers. "The affairs for today, Councillor."

"Thank you, Zukao." he said as he flipped through the pages, finding statistics, reports and missives from representatives throughout the city, a very interesting name caught his eye, and he stopped for a moment.

 

_Cabbage Corp business assets seized by order of Chief Bei Fong, CEO 'Mr Cabbage' apprehended and his accounts frozen. Requesting a audience with Councillor Tarrlok at 2:00PM this afternoon._

_Signed, Hiroshi Sato, FutureTech Industries, Chief Executive Officer._

Tarrlok scratched his chin as he thought up plans and actions to this exciting turn of events, his blue eyes practically glowing. He could finally take Chief Bei Fong out of the game, allowing him free reign to take over as chief of police and increase his influence across the board.

He chuckled softly to himself.

* * *

_Air Temple Island._  


"Your bedside manner needs work." he said with a grunt as she accidentally left a scratch on him while trying to dig her fingers under a bandage. He yelped as the bandages ripped across a patch of skin, rubbing it raw.

"Better?" she asked in a innocent tone, laughing as he fixed her with a stormy expression.

"I hate you." he was answered with another rip, and a patch of skin on his lower back burned painfully as he yelped again.

"Stay still." she cautioned.

Tai was sitting cross legged on the floor of Korra's quarters, staring down at the floor in front of him while on a table nearby a radio blared the early morning lineup.

"It's time to say goodbye, Mari, I won't forget ya!" a sitar riff started up before being joined by a bass drum and a saxophone, and a deep voice warbling about a girl named Mari.

"So -ow- changing topics here, when's training begin?"

Korra shrugged behind him. "I don't know, I'm going to meet Mako and Bolin later on, so I don't think it'll be then. Can't you ask him yourself?"

"I will be, I'm just using you as a medium." he said with utter seriousness, making her eyes roll as she started to unwrap the last strip of bandage from his chest.

"Ha ha. Just ask after breakfast."

"Fine. Aren't Mako and Bolin your teammates?" he asked, feeling that he heard their names somewhere before.

"Well yeah, the three of us make up the fire-ferrets. I'm not sure what's going to happen to the team though, with the arena as it is."

"It'll be up and running in a few months, Korra." he glanced up at her as she fell quiet for a moment.

"I'm more concerned with them than the pro-bending, they live in one of the towers of the arena." she said after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Oh." he paused, not really sure what to say.

He just thought of something when Korra spoke up again. "You know what? I'm going to ask Tenzin if they can stay here on the island." that excited tone in her voice made him a bit cautious.

"Umm...are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am. I don't want them to be back on the street." she looked at him like he was speaking nonsense.

"No that's not what I meant, you do know who Tenzin is right? Really stubborn, traditional, and a stick the size of a tree trunk up his-"

"I get the point." she said, cutting him off as she tried stifling a giggle.

"Still.."

"I think I can convince him. Besides you'll hit it off just fine."

Tai muttered something under his breath. "Not me I'm concerned about."

"What was that?" she asked. The last bandage fell off, and he made the mistake of turning around. She was giving him a suspicous look.

"Nothing!" he said quickly.

"I'll find out one way or another." she decided, thinking about 'asking' in the middle of a spar between the two of them.

"Uh, probably."

They both paused, adding stillness and silence to the room. Tai cleared his throat and grabbed his grey shirt, tugging it over his head and letting it fall down over his body.

Korra packed the bandages away into a sealskin knapsack, and slid it under her bed.

Really it was quite awkward.

"Mari, oh Mari, I'll find ya someday- We interrupt this broadcast for a special news bulletin!"

Korra and Tai looked at each other with puzzled looks on them.

The voice on the radio changed to a smooth and light tone. Tai clenched his fists, while Korra crossed her arms. "Although the Hundred Year War has long passed, we are not in a state of peace."

"What's he doing?" he murmured, while she placed a finger on her lips.

"Quiet!"

"These revolutionaries who call themselves "Equalists" are not interested in equality at all. They just want to wage war against benders."

The sounds of a clapping crowd and the whumps of camera shots carried through the radio's speakers.

"Chief Bei Fong was supposed to protect Republic City, but she was powerless to stop Amon's attack on the arena. She has failed us all. If we are to survive in these dire times, our law enforcement needs new leadership."

Among the chorus of voices that answered him, a single one was discernable.

"Councillor, who do you recommend to replace the Chief?"

"I'm sure we can find a suitable replacement in the higher echelons of the police force to live up to her reputation and quality."

A blast of fire knocked the radio to the floor, leaving its finish slightly blackened and giving off smoke. "That jerk wants to take over the police!" the flames disappeared from her hand as she glowered at the smoldering remains of the little brown box.

"Sounds like he's going for a power grab." Tai muttered.

"He's already got a personal task force that answers to him! This won't be good." she shook her head as she paced around the room a little, getting bad feelings about this.

Tai heard the distant sound of Pema's voice. "Come on, breakfast is up." he grabbed his longcoat and walked over to his room, throwing it inside before waiting near the bridge for her.

She joined him with a sour look on her face.

* * *

"I suppose you heard Tarrlok's announcement?"

Everyone was seated at the table, with a bowl of pleasantly colored muesli and oats in front of them. Ikki and Meelo dug in with glee, with Jinora quietly taking a bite every known and then, focusing on the conversation taking place.

"Yeah, he's definitely looking for the chief's spot." Korra sighed as she stirred her muesli round, a look of distaste on her.

"I'll talk to him at the next council meeting, perhaps I'll be able to dissuade him, or at least find out what he's hiding." her master reassured as she glanced up at him.

"Be careful, Tenzin."

"Korra, shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

"Maybe, but I'm not taking on a very well connected man in one of the highest positions in the city." she pointed out, making the man stop for a moment before nodding.

"...I'll be careful then."

Tai chuckled. "I bet you've been waiting a while to say that, Korra."

She gave him a very wry look, before turning back to Tenzin. "Hey Tenzin, can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

Tenzin groaned quietly, stopping when Pema gave him a very evil stare. "Very well, what is it?"

"Say two people lived in attic on top of a stadium, and that stadium was somehow damaged and about to destroyed for a new building. What would you say if they had nowhere to go and there were few rooms available on a hypothetical island near the stadium?"

Tai winced at how shockingly bad she was doing.

"Your friends can't stay here." he nodded and put a spoonful of muesli in his mouth as he flipped the pages of the newspaper near his elbow.

"Oh why not!" she complained while Tai raised his eyebrow.

"Because they are undisciplined and will upset the balance of this island."

"They don't have anywhere to go! And we have spare living quarters!" she argued passionately, making him look up from the paper with a gruff sigh.

"Korra-" he was stopped in his tracks by another glare from Pema.

She turned to the table. "To be honest, I think this decision should be made with a vote. All in favor of giving two strangers a place to stay?"

Tenzin crossed his arms and huffed. She rolled her eyes in response to his childish display. "For a short while?" she added.

All three siblings shot their hands up immediately, and Korra absolutely beamed as she joined with hers. She glanced at Tai, putting him on the spot.

Reluctantly Tai slowly raised it, before she grabbed it and thrusted it high, putting the vote forward for him.

Tenzin sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alright fine. But only for a short while."

"Yes! Thanks Tenzin!" She ate her bowl in five seconds flat, she grabbed her cloth, wiping her mouth clean before getting up. "Can I tell them the good news?"

"Yes, you are excused." Tenzin said with a depressed tone.

She ran out of the room, just in time for Meelo to begin smashing his bowl against the table, trying to imitate her.

Tenzin pinched his nose in exasperation. "Meelo please stop doing that."

"RAAAAAH!"

Tai ate his muesli quietly, washing it down with a glass of water. Soon enough he finished the bowl, and stacked it on top of Korra's. He moved to take it to the kitchen when Pema spoke up. "Don't worry about it Tai, Tenzin's on cleaning duty today" she gave her husband a pointed look while she glanced back at Tai with a warm smile. "Why don't you wait outside for training?"

"Oh- alright." he dropped the bowls back onto the table, and left the room, escaping a widening maelstrom of the chaos known as Meelo.

He had his arms crossed, and his expression was that of a bored one as he waited. He bent down to pick at a blade of grass, he balanced it on his pinky, watching how its interior was made visible when exposed to sunlight. He flicked it away, and sighed.

His thoughts all moved sluggishly, getting slower and slower as the boredom increased. He decided to focus on the sky, noting the intricate cloud patterns that hung directly over the island, he thought he saw a small shape gliding over him, and wondered if it was the lemur he met when draining the soup dish. He shrugged, and turned to watch the open door, rewarded with the sight of a blue arrow tattoo on a certain someone's bald head.

Tenzin stood in front of him, a collection of orange and yellow fabric in his hands. His size.

He threw it to Tai, and he put it over his head, the material bunched up over his shoulders and Tai tugged at it. It cascaded over his shoulders, finally settling into position. He looked at Tenzin, and nodded. "I'm ready."

"Just a moment." he noticed his master was tapping his foot somewhat impatiently, and he resolved to put his patience to the test in the future, reasoning he might as well do it to liven up the place.

His thoughts were interrupted by a peal of laughter coming through the doorway. Meelo burst through, his arms like wings as he ran around Tai making whooshing noises. Ikki ran after her brother and stood nearby. Jinora walked out with her hands behind her back, as she calmly took her place next to Tai.

"Are we all ready to begin?" Tenzin quietly asked.

Meelo stopped his motions, and moved to Ikki's side, picking his nose.

Tai bowed. "Ready, master."

"Alright, follow me, we're going to work on meditation first."

They all followed him as he took a path around the side of the house, running past a long and manicured hill. A part of it branched off to the right, heading up the hill and running towards a small gazebo like structure, its roof was painted a light blue and decorated with grey swirling symbols, and the supports were a bright uniform white, with no symbols or insignia carved into their surface.

Tenzin walked up the tiny flight of stairs to the inside of the pavilion, and sat down near the side that faced the calm expanse of the ocean. A series of orange circles were arranged in a line in front of him. He indicated them to his students. "Take a seat, everyone."

As one they all sat, mimicking the cross legged position Tenzin was in. Tai settled in on the one closest to the stairs, next to Jinora.

"Now close your eyes, and think of the calmest place you know."

As one they all took a deep breath and shut their eyes. Tenzin watched them for a bit, before doing the same.

"Picture it."

Tai had no small amount of difficulty trying to picture it, he knew that. After a few moments of soul searching and thought. He realized...he didn't have one. He suddenly felt very vulnerable, very self conscious and very afraid. He desperately tried to think of the closest substitute, picturing a small but densely forested island, on it were a collection of buildings and paths.

Here.

Where he was right now, what he was sitting on right now, that was the closest to calm he had ever experienced in his recent memory.

"Now picture those who you know, who give you strength and support you. Picture them standing in this place."

Tai concentrated, and a proud girl with her brown hair in a pony tail appeared first, winking at him with a gigantic smirk on her face. Up next was a woman dressed in a orange and red robe, with her pale hands wrapped around her rounded belly, a warm motherly look in her eyes. Next up was a reedy man, standing straight and tall next to her, the voluminous crimson sleeves of his robes meeting in front of him to form a unbroken link. He had a stern, but knowing look in his gaze. Three children came next, each one dressed in a orange and yellow robe. One was bald, the youngest, and was laughing, with a unlimited amount of cheer and wonder behind his eyes. The second was taller, and she held a evil grin, laughing as well. The last, was quietly looking at him, expectant of what he could do.

Suddenly the landscape changed, transforming into a hellishly dark place, choking with black smog, and dominated by a torrential downpour of rain. A cluster of dirty and broken buildings cluttered the area, all overshadowed by a massive airship, decked in a theme of red and black, with a familiar symbol staring down at him. Underneath it a wall of fire and blackened wood crackled and flared, instead of the crackle of flames, a chorus of voices screamed and cried out in terror.

A single hooded figure appeared in front of him, hands clasped behind his back as he walked towards him, a grim white mask boring into him.

"Boy..." the visage growled-

He opened his eyes with a gasp, finding beads of sweat rolling into his eyes. He blinked twice in confusion and terror. And shivered.

"Tai!" Tenzin reached towards him with a concerned look.

Jinora and Ikki craned their heads as they watched him with worry. He found his chest was heaving, and he suddenly got up. "I-I need to go."

"Tai - wait. What did you see?"

He clenched his hands tightly, turning his knuckles white with the tension. "Him! I saw him! They were burning and I-" his voice cracked a little before he stopped and tryedto get a hold of himself, seeing the horrified faces of the kids.

"Calm down!"

A dangerously animal like look came into his eyes. "I need to find him!" he growled.

"That can wait-"

"NO IT CAN'T!" He shouted.

The pavilion was silent, and Tai looked around him, realizing he was standing up with his hands balled into fists. He was breathing heavily. He didn't look at any of them as he stormed out of there, leaving behind the very confused and upset group.

Tenzin pinched his nose in frustration and helplessness, his daughters went to comfort him, wrapping him in a embrace, while Meelo just turned around to watch Tai walk across the cliff edge towards a empty bluff.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Tai had his arms crossed, and a stormy look in his eyes as he silently watched the waves crash against the rocks below, throwing clumps of churning white foam on them. Once the waves receded small movements were seen in the cracks of the cliff as a colony of Lemurs began to stir and chatter.

A long drawn out breath escaped him as he shook his head. He wiped his palm over his face, sighing as he tried to get his thoughts in check.

Why did I do that?

He couldn't face them now, possibly never, not after that. They probably would be scared to death of him, and they'd have the right idea to-

"May I sit down?"

He whipped around, averting his eyes as Tenzin sat down next to him and settled into a cross legged position. He stayed silent, not trusting his mouth to say anything good.

"You know, my father came out here to collect his thoughts, and to work things out between himself. I honestly couldn't see why he did so, which is why I choose to mediate in that shelter."

Trying his luck, he spoke quietly. "Your father? Avatar Aang?"

Tenzin inclined his head. "The very same."

"Did he have the same...issues?" the boy asked quietly, trying to cling onto the knowledge that someone as famous as Aang had the same insecurities he did.

"Not exactly, but he did face a similar problem a long time ago."

"Someone like hi- Amon - was threatening the city?"

"Yes. I was only ten years old at the time." he chuckled. "That was around the time I had just met Lin."

He sat there for a moment, trying to picture the high-strung and no-nonsense police chief and his stoic master playing together as kids. "Huh. You both are practically opposites."

His master nodded as he glanced at him. "We knew that, and I don't think we gave a fig."

Tai fidgeted, and looked away from Tenzin. "What's going to happen to me?"

He glanced at his master and immediately regretted it. An absolutely diabolical look was there. "Tomorrow, I'll test you in a few sparring matches. From what I've seen, you really need to brush up on the basics."

"Yeah..."

"Korra can join in as well, I'm sure it'll work out in your favor." Tenzin didn't know that Tai saw him wince.

"I think I can take her on." he said with a bit of fire in his voice.

"Good."

"Honey!" They both looked back, seeing Pema standing behind them. "Korra needs to talk with you, says its urgent."

Tenzin nodded, and before leaving him, placed a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Keep it under control?"

The boy hesitated, slightly unsure before his confidence welled up. "I will."

"I think we'll end the lessons for today. Do whatever you want, and I'll see you at dinner."

Tai nodded, and turned back to watching the ocean, his thoughts now at ease. For a little while.

Huh. He's been gone a while now. Tai ran a towel through his hair, trying to get it back into his meticulously unkempt look. He nudged the door open with his feet, and stepped out onto the smooth stone pathway. As his undertook a metamorphosis inside the warm cocoon the towel made, he looked up at the moon, noticing how especially full it was tonight. It glimmered beautifully, giving everything it saw a portion of its light. Studding the sky alongside the moon, stars twinkled brilliantly, trying their best to shine before the advancing cloud formation blowing from the west, their dark nebulous profiles barely discernible against the dark sky.

He had a lazy smile on his face, very content with how the day proceeded.

He really wasn't sure what to do with himself for a while, aimlessly wandering around the Island at first. He found himself near the air acolytes quarters, and decided to give them a hand in their daily jobs and labor. After bidding them goodbye, he still wasn't satisfied, and decided to explore the western edge of the Island. That was going to be difficult though, seeing as a fifty meter gap separated it from the island proper. Still it wasn't something he hadn't faced before, and decided to make that his goal for the day. It kept him focused, stopping him from going back to the darker parts of his thoughts. 

Finally, as the sun began to duck back towards the horizon, he got across. He set to exploring, disturbing colonies of Lemurs, rousing curious looks from a heard of sky-bison, and generally finding something to with his time. Soon enough he found what he found what he was looking for.

After being bested several times in a row by a particularly stubborn broad leaf as wide as his whole body. He stumbled into a clearing, bisected in two by a running stream of crystal clear water. In the center of the grove was a simple rock, twice as high as he was. He didn't know why but it radiated a sense of calm and security. He decided to leave though, promising to come back here at a latter point in time.

He stopped ruffling his hair, and it immediately poofed out. He blew a thick strand of hair out his mouth, a very unimpressed look on him. Looking down at times to check the towel around his waist was still hanging one, he crossed the bridge to his and Korra's rooms. He saw her door move.

Huh. She was back.

Tai shrugged and walked over to his door, reaching to pull it back. He heard a slight thump within, and paused. Slowly and cautiously, he gripped the edge of the door, and very purposefully, began to slide it across, trying not to alert whatever made the sound.

It opened up, so far revealing only what was there normally, nothing at all and a sock or two. His sword, currently sitting in its sheath, was propped up against the opposite wall, between a shelf and a line of cabinets. Maybe it was a false alarm...

"Hello."

Now he was very confused.

He opened it fully, revealing the addition of two extra beds, with two more occupants.

The guy in front of him was looking straight him, an eyebrow raised, and a question in his bright green eyes. On his head was a curled up length of red fur. The other occupant of the room, crossed his arms, and mouthed something silently.

He was about to take a breath to speak when he stopped himself. Stepping through the threshold, he walked past the two of them, holding up a single finger as he did so. He stood by his bed, and closed the curtains.

Dropping the towel around his ankles, he grabbed his pants, slipping them on with practiced ease. He pulled his gray shirt over his head, which managed to pat down his hair into its natural messiness.

He sat down on his bed, and opened the curtains.

"Uh...I'm Tai."

The coil of red fur jumped off of the guy with the green eye's head, and moved across the floor towards him. It stood up, raising itself as high as his knee. He watched it as it cocked its head and squeaked, before he could blink it wrapped itself around his foot and purred contentedly.

Mako opened his mouth to answer when his brother cut in. "I'm Bolin, awesome bending master and pro-bending champ."

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen any of your games."

Bolin sagged. "Oh." he pointed at Mako. "That's Mako, my brother."

"Nice scarf."

"It stays on me." Mako answered a bit pointedly.

Tai held up his hands. "Sure, fine. Did I miss something?"

Mako chuckled. "I think I did too, even if I was there."

Bolin took this as a chance to cut in. "Equalists."

"Ah. Is Korra okay?" he asked, hoping that they hadn't badly hurt her. He blinked twice as he wondered why thoughts like that were on his mind.

"Yeah she's fine. How do you know her?" Bolin crossed his arms, casting a suspicious look at him.

"We met on a moonlit night in a cosy 'interview room' at police headquarters." came the boy's incredibly sarcastic reply.

"What'd you do?" Mako pressed, already getting the idea that this guy was trouble.

"I had a meeting with someone." Tai, trying not to let his eyes narrow in distaste at his own failure.

The other boy nodded, his eyes untrusting as they noticed the sword propped against the wall. "That there too?"

"It was bring your own." he said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm evident.

They bored into each others eyes, trying to gauge what the other was thinking. Bolin watched them cautiously. He suddenly yawned. "Uh, well, I'm off. Night" he said quickly, before dropping onto the bed and snoring.

Mako spoke up first. "Stay away from her." he warned as he laid back down, closing his eyes immediately and turning away from the boy.

Tai scowled and did the same, finding himself uncomfortably scrunched up against the wall.

Great.

* * *

潮


	5. The Ferret, and the Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Tai adjusts to having Mako, Bolin and Asami living on the Island, Tarrlok offers him a way to Amon in return for serving as part of his task force.

 

潮

* * *

_Air Temple Island._

He yawned, stretching his arms out in front of him as the thin glass of the window staring down at him let the sun caress his face. He didn't see it that way however, and screwed his eyes shut in a bid to keep the dark going. He noticed a small coil of red fur on his chest, breathing slowly as he reached a hand to stroke the fur on its belly, the creature awoke and studied him quizzically. The little ferret rolled over, showing more of the pale fur on its belly. 

Tai took this as an invitation and scratched it, causing the creature to stretch and purr contently. After a short while he stopped, and got up. The ferret was too slow, and fell off with a squeak. It immediately went outside, disappearing from sight.

Tai shrugged and scratched the back of his head, launching a pre-emptive strike on a itch that was threatening to form. He walked outside, blinking as the sun's glare reached him.

He saw Pabu wrapped around the branch of a tree nearby, trying to bat a small berry off of its stem. He kept on walking, moving across the bridge and down the path towards the house. Sliding the door open, he was greeted with the main hallway, warmly lit by the early morning sun. As he stepped through Meelo and Ikki ran down the stairs, moving away from him and disappearing in the corridor between the kitchen and dining room. With no reason as to why, he followed them, looking into the corridor. Pema walked out of the cluttered kitchen, and saw him.

"Morning."

He smiled. "Morning Pema."

"I was just about to send your wake up call – well – he's currently making a mess in the next room."

He could do without the threat of Meelo jumping on him. "Lucky break for me."

"Actually now that you're here…can you bring the pot out?"

"You work me to the bone around here."

She shrugged. "Have to find some way to make you useful."

Tai winced. "Ooh, that hurts just a tiny bit."

She laughed. "It's on the bench closest to the door."

He nodded his understanding, and waited for her to enter the next room before going in to get the pot. He went in, finding the massive pot sitting in front of him on the polished wooden surface of a bench. With a grip on each handle, he lifted it without too much effort, and made his journey across the hallway to the dining room.

Everyone was seated at the table, talking among themselves or waiting patiently while Tai carefully maneuvered the pot of muesli into center position. After wiggling it across the surface to give it a bit of space from the clutter, he stepped back and sat down in a empty place next to Bolin.

Meelo seemed to be bursting from the inside. Tenzin saw this, and turned to him. "Meelo?"

He pointed at the three newcomers. "Who are they?"

"They are friends of Korra's. They will be living on the island for a short while."

Mako answered him. "Sorry if we're intruding, sir."

Tenzin arched an eyebrow, and chuckled. "Well I can see who the responsible one is."

Korra shot Mako a look that denounced him as a suck up as Tenzin glanced knowingly at Tai. Worth a shot.

"I...don't think that I need to do that...master." Tai narrowed his eyes for a few seconds as his master shrugged in response.

Bolin decided to chip in. "Mr Tenzin, sorry, sir. If you need any kind of help whatsoever, we are your people." He shot his brother a cheesy grin. Mako groaned and shook his head.

Tenzin had an absolutely evil look on his face now. "I thank you both for the offer, after breakfast I'll give you two a list of things that Pema or I will need help with."

Mako's eyebrow twitched a little, as he thought of throttling Bolin. Asami touched him lightly on the shoulder, and he sighed. She smiled at him, and turned to Tenzin, she inclined her head towards him. "We thank you for your hospitality, Councilman Tenzin, and we'll help out any way we can during our stay here."

Bolin gave her a thumbs up, while next to him, Korra as busy demolishing the muesli.

"It's no trouble Asami. And just Tenzin will do." he looked over at Tai. "Tai, after you are finished here, you'll met Korra and I outside."

"Training?" Came the boy's voice, muffled by a mouthful of food.

He inclined his head. "Yes. We'll be sparring, seeing how good you are with both of your elements."

Tai swallowed noisily, getting a smirk from Korra and a arched eyebrow from Asami. "Can't wait." Tai noticed that Korra's smirk had gained an evil edge to it, not to mention those were the same eyes she used when about to give a beatdown. "This is going to hurt isn't it?"

She nodded vigorously as she dropped her spoon into her bowl. "I'm done!" she announced suddenly while standing up, and pointing at Tai with her pinky and index finger extended. "See you out there."

Bolin leaned in towards him. "Dude, it was nice knowing you." he whispered. He gave his new friend a sympathetic look and went back to finishing off the muesli.

Tai scooped the rest of his into his mouth, and dropped his spoon into the bowl. He stood up. "Thanks for the food Pema. Everyone, goodbye." He walked out of the room, heading outside through the front door.

Than he beamed.

To be honest, he was playing it up a little. He was confident he could take her on and win, he was a air bender by birth, so he was accustomed to dodging and moving quickly. In his reasoning, he was certain that it was the most versatile of the four elements, and he could use it to counter almost every one of her moves. He could firebend as well, but he was unskilled and clumsy, and more than likely he would hurt himself and others rather than what he was aiming at. He started on the path connecting to the training area and the living quarters, and spent his time thinking up plans, counters, actions, everything he could do to defeat the physical incarnation of the world's spirit.

Shouldn't be that much trouble.

Okay, it was a lot of trouble.

A wall of earth rose out of the ground, and rushed towards him with a grinding noise. He was still low to the ground, bending his entire body to duck underneath a arc of fire that had sliced towards him moments before. The wall crashed into his feet, tripping him up and causing him to float for a single second. The end of that second was reached as a blast of water caught him in the chest, drenching him from head to toe and threatening to slam him into the ground, giving the avatar a early win.

He threw his hands out, and created a cushion of air underneath his body, it rose up, getting him back on his feet. He smirked as Korra scowled, throwing several discs of earth at him. He spun around them, blending the move into a strong kick of pressurized air, the projectile hit Korra in the chest, throwing her back a few meters.

Tenzin stood on the edge of the circular space, nodding approvingly as he watched both of his pupils dodge and weave around attacks, rather than face them head on.

Korra rolled forwards, barely avoiding another blast of air. She quickly sprang up, and lifted a thick finger of rock out of the ground, she flung it towards him like a javelin, and Tai quickly sidestepped the projectile, retaliating with a sweep of his arms, commanding a crescent shaped mass of air to speed towards her. She ducked under it, and lifted her foot to stomp down on the ground.

Tai yelped as the patch of earth he was standing on was thrown upwards, flinging him into the air. Korra drew her arms back, gathering more energy for another earth bending move. He predicted this, and drew the air around him into a shield to deflect the projectile that would be coming at him at any momen-

A hard object hit him from behind, slamming him into the ground just in front of Korra. The block of earth retracted back into the ground, melding seamlessly with the soil once more.

Korra was breathing heavily, wiping a bead of sweat off of her forehead. Flicking a loose lock of hair out of her eyes, she chuckled and put her hands on her hips. "That was a good one Tai."

He groaned pitifully, his response muffled by the soil, after finding out just how much his body was hurting he stopped. And settled for a thumbs up.

"You both did well, although Tai, you need to work on tightening up your blasts and sweeps." He watched the boy's chin dip slightly from his position down on the ground, and turned to the tired girl. "Korra, your strength is close quarters, you need to close the gap between him and you. Although that shouldn't be a problem once you've learnt more air bending techniques."

Her bow was clumsy as her muscles almost refused to bend that way. "Thank you, Tenzin."

He glanced at Tai, than at her. "I hope you'll heal him once we're done for the day?"

"Heh. Third times the charm." she smirked, before a flash of a strange thought ran through her, threatening to leave furious blush on her cheeks.

Tai managed to get up, and limped to the edge of the practice area, standing next to Tenzin.

"So what now, Tenzin?" Korra asked, eager to clear her head of those strange thoughts.

Her master strode forwards, settling into a stance that kept him flexible and agile. "You'll be sparring against me now. When you are ready."

Korra laughed nervously, looking over at the boy she had just beaten into the ground for support, someone to give her the assurance that she'll live to see the end of the day. Despite his condition, he gave her a thumbs up, keeping it there for a second before his arm gave up trying, and he settled for a very grim smile instead..

He watched as she settled into a earthbending stance, with her feet placed out wide from her body, and facing directly towards the airbender. She breathed in deeply for a few moments, calming herself and clearing her head. She opened her eyes, and nodded.

She ran forward, and twisted to the right, using her leg to sweep a stream of fire at him. He used a circular motion to dodge, before twirling to face her again and swiping his arms forwards, sending a wall of wind towards Korra. She rolled out of the way and with one palm on the ground, she willed a spear of earth to jut out from under Tenzin. He used a gust of air to raise himself above it, hanging there, he spun around, creating a funnel of spinning wind that drove at her. She stomped the ground, and a wall of earth rose up, blocking the funnel. As he dropped back to the ground he unleashed a kick of air at her, missing her by inches as she dodged out of the way.

"Hey guys! Tai, wo-"

Bolin screamed most ladylike as the blast of air flew towards him. He flailed his arms wildly, in response, a wall of earth began to jerk upwards, than downwards a bit, before finally reaching to the top of his head. The blast slammed into the wall, and kept going, dissipating just before Bolin's boggled eyes. Tai watched as he began breathing again, and let the formation settle back in. Mako and Asami were a few metres behind him, and made choking noises as they held their mouths closed, trying not to let a sound escape.

"That was close." Mako observed with a barely suppressed smirk as he walked past his stunned brother, who had a look of sheer shock on his face. Asami waved her hand in front of him, trying to get him to snap out of it. Slowly he regained normal body movement and blinked a few times.

Asami moved over to Mako's side, while Bolin moved over to Tai. The young airbender had a smug look on his face, despite the fact that he was nursing a bruised and beaten arm, several battered ribs, and a knee that threatened to give out at any time. "That's the power of air for you."

"Funny. I'll remember that when I have to go to the bathroom." Bolin said with a very shaky tone.

His ribs hurt like hell as he laughed, the sound carrying all over the circular space. "Still making jokes in the face of death. Good job Bolin." He settled down after a bit, and focused on the match between Korra and Tenzin. "Korra's getting worn down." he observed.

He watched as she unleashed a massive sweeping arc of flame in front of her, which Tenzin quickly deflected with a circular motion using both arms, causing it to dissipate into the air. He heard Korra growl and throw her arms back, with a massive cry she flung them forwards, causing a massive wall of earth to jut out of the ground higher and higher as it made its journey towards her master. He countered by jumping high into the air, using his bending and natural agility to his advantage. He twirled, and lashed out his foot, a massive scythe of air slammed through the earth formation, shattering it back into dust and soil. It continued it's path towards Korra, and with great effort, she managed a sloppy sidestep away from it.

She ran forwards, ducking and weaving as Tenzin launched blast after blast at her. She got hit by a few of them, but managed to recover and make her way to his position. Tenzin pursed his lips as he jumped high into the air once more, bending the air around him into a crescent shaped mass, and directed it with great speed at Korra. She smirked and ducked under it, than slammed her foot into the ground.

Tenzin saw a patch of earth rise beneath him from the corner of his eye. He drew the air around him into a protective barrier, deflecting the growing tower of rock and dirt and shattering it into pieces.

Korra's face fell as he reformed the barrier into a single great mass, which he sent flying towards her. In vain she quickly drew a sphere of earth around her, with pieces of rock and clumps of soil swirling around her and settling into position. She was too late, and the mass managed to get enough through, hitting her in the gut and sending her tumbling backwards stomach over head, getting a few yelps and grunts from the avatar-in-training before she finally came to a stop in a heap on the ground.

Tai winced as he felt her pain, not even sparing a thought that she was the one who did it to him. A very low groan was the only noise in the area as Tenzin copied his student.

"Are you alright Korra?"

She held a arm above her, with her thumb stuck up in the air. "Just a 'sec."

"I think we'll end the sparring there. Now, Bolin..." he started, trying to suppress his laughter at how gray the boy had become.

Bolin seemed to cringe a little as he heard Tenzin say his name. "Y-yes?"

Tenzin dipped his head. "I apologize for hitting you with that attack."

He seemed to get some of his bravado back on the spot. "What? Oh, uh, nah," he put on a cheesy grin, holding up both arms, with Pabu on top of his head. "It's fine, I could have taken it."

Mako decided to chip in. "Could not, I saw you get taken down by a stray turtle-dog once." He flashed a smug smirk at Bolin, mouthing "I win" to him silently.

Bolin scowled in response. "I was merely caught off-guard, dragging you out of the way of a car tends to do that."

"You were nearly hit by a car?" Asami glanced at Mako, concern on her mind.

"That was a year ago, Bolin. It's not a habit!" he said quickly, trying to reassure her at the same time.

Bolin grinned. "Funny, you said that when that truck nearly hit last month!"

They continued their brotherly bickering as Tai saw Asami look over in his direction, with a very desperate plea for help in her eyes. Tai shrugged, gave her a thumbs up, and went to help Korra. As he went over to her, she rolled over, now facing the calm blue sky, she coughed and groaned, and she curled over in pain. He bent down, offering her a hand. Slowly, she recognized he was there, and grabbed it. Tai pulled her up, stumbling a little.

"So who needs healing now?" He simply could not resist the dig, very much amused by how reversed the situation was.

Korra flashed a look at him that he would see again a thousand times over. "Shut. Up." She frowned as she took a look at him. "Actually, I think you do."

"I know a thing or two about patching people up, if you'd let me...?"

She sighed. "Alright. But no funny stuff."

"I'd never." he said, putting on a mortified expression. A smile came back to his lips. "If it helps, you did pretty well there."

His words hung in the air for a few seconds as she barely registered the compliment. She nodded once as a sigh escaped her. "I really need to learn air bending."

"Are you sure? You may not be able to stand up to my skills."

"You're right, I'll do fine in the meanwhile, not like you can help or anything."

"Alright."

She blinked twice in confusion. "What?"

"I'll help." she saw his shoulders rise as he did a little shrug.

"With airbending?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You're the avatar, you need to learn it. With two airbenders teaching you, you'll be great at it."

"And when will this 'teaching' take place?"

"I don't know, four till five every day?"

Korra didn't find any downside to the extra training. The words Amon spoke to her during their 'duel' still occupied her thoughts, and forced her to suppress a shudder every now and then. Without any hesitation she caught his eye and nodded vigorously. "Sounds good."

"Are you two conspiring?" Tenzin walked over to them, with concern and amusement in his eyes. Mostly amusement. She managed to wave her hand a little, although it ached terribly doing even that in the battered state she was in.

Tai gave him a serious look. "Actually, master, I was just offering to help Korra with her airbending."

Tenzin nodded his approval. "I was going to suggest the very same."

He blinked, not expecting that. "You were?"

"I'm afraid with the state Republic City is in, you'll need to know all four elements to do your duties effectively." He rolled his eyes, garnering a quizzical look from his two students. "That was Tarrlok's reasoning. I just want you to be safe, but your safety wasn't on his mind, just results."

"So are you going to allow it, master?" Tai asked.

Tenzin inclined his head. "I will, you'll need everything you can to stay safe. Also goes for you as well Tai." he looked knowingly at him.

He got the message as a thought came to mind. "Korra? Will you help me with firebending practice?" he turned towards her, waiting for a answer. 

"Well, alright." She was willing to do whatever she could to help the still-enigmatic boy, partly motivated by what happened in the warehouse and by a desire to just... help.

As Tai took a step forward towards the path, Tenzin placed a hand on her shoulder. "Meet me at the pavilion a hour after lunch."

"Meditation?" Korra asked, wincing a little at the extra suffering her muscles would endure.

"Indeed."

The girl watched him look at Tai, noticing the worried look in his eyes. And just after Tenzin left to talk to the others, she regarded him suspiciously. "Tai, what happened?"

His free hand balled into a fist unknowingly. "Nothing."

She rolled her eyes. "Great answer."

"We just meditated."

Sensing the strange look in his eyes, she backed off. "Alright. Deliver me to the living quarters. If you will." Tai gave her a strange look, and she shrugged. "You're less likely to collapse."

He shook his head, sighing as he helped her down the path, leaving Tenzin and the others.

"I kicked your ass." she pointed out rather bluntly, using it as an excuse to get a conversation going.

"Uh huh. I hear them applauding." Without warning the boy stumbled. Which was

"Ow!"

"Oh no, I must have slipped on a rock." He stated with all the innocence he had.

"That was evil."

"Talking down to the help is not recommended."

"...Fine."

The area around the path opened out into the island proper, their view no longer obscured by the bamboo stalks.

"I'm sorry."

He chuckled. "What? You didn't hurt my feelings or anything."

She looked away. "No. I mean, asking the way I did before, about meditating."

"No. It's fine." He sighed. "I screwed up."

The girl nodded, before a nervous little chuckle escaped her. "So, now that we're talking about this, what happened?"

"I flipped out. While we were meditating...I some kind of vision, sort of. It was peaceful at first, as it should have been. Than it changed horribly. He appeared, and Tenzin tried to snap me out of it. I was angry, pissed off, I just wanted to-" he caught himself, when he saw the growing concern in his friend's eyes. "-sorry, didn't mean to dump it on you."

"That's okay." They both fell silent, the birds and wind taking up the conversation instead.

Suddenly she laughed. And Tai had a puzzled look on him. "I'm the Avatar, and I'm supposed to stop him, and-and, I can't." she hung her head. "I'm afraid."

A grunt escaped her as he stopped suddenly, looking at her with a twisted smirk. "Afraid, you? You're the bravest girl I've ever met, just an example, if you tried your best scream, you still wouldn't compare to mine. I'm very good at it."

Despite how she was feeling, she giggled. "I doubt that, Tai, remember the warehouse? I froze up, and there he was coming towards me, and well, you saved my life.

He saw something strange in the corner of his eye. Di- did she just blush? "Uh- thank you?" he tried weakly. He really had no clue what to do from here. He looked up, noticing they were near the bridge. He took them over, walking carefully to ensure he didn't hurt her or himself. As he came to the courtyard between the two sleeping rooms, he stopped for a moment. "Your room?"

"Yeah, my pouch is there."

He opened the sliding door for her, and she nodded gratefully. They moved towards one of the beds, and Tai carefully lowered Korra onto the mattress. She went to grab for the water pouch lying on the floor nearby when Tai stopped her. "I'll get it." with a slight sound of discomfort he picked it up and handed it to her. She laid it next to her as he sat down on the bed.

Without warning she took her top off. Tai reddened and quickly looked away, and he heard her laugh. "I need you to put some bandages on me first, genius."

Trying not to look at the lovely shade of brown her skin was, he clamped a hand over his eyes and grabbed a roll from the bag, using the little gap between his fingers to find his way to it, which was tough going, especially when his attention kept being drawn to the finely curved hips sitting just to the side. "Where do you want them?"

"Left shoulder and over my stomach."

"Ookay..." He couldn't control the gulp as his fingers brushed against her skin, and he was sure she knew. She didn't seem to mind though or point out his embarrassment though, and he was very grateful for that.

He began with her shoulder, covering it with soft, white cloth as he slowly wound it down her arm in fairly tight bounds. Just as it reached her elbow he stopped, and tied it off, he snipped it loose from the roll, it came free, with only a little fraying at the end. With the remainder he went to work wounding it around her stomach, trying not to brush her skin with his fingers. The roll ran out, so he took out a fresh one and kept on running it around. After her stomach was completely covered with the material, he stopped, snipping it and stowing the roll back into the pack.

She put her shirt back on, and rolled her shoulder, wincing slightly as it flared up a bit. "Nothing I can't handle." She drew a stream of water out of the pouch and directed it to her arm and stomach, sighing with relief as the pain from both of them dulled. She turned to him.

"Okay. Your turn."

He took his shirt off immediately, and held his arms out from him. She directed the water onto his arm, and upper chest. After his bruises on those areas shrunk down, he wordlessly turned away from her. His back had a massive red welt dominating it, from the block of earth that struck him there from before. The water spread out over it, completely covering the blow. It glowed a light blue, and the welt shrunk down in size, and the pain died away to a dull throb. "Thanks."

He put his shirt back on, and stood up, smiling as nothing hurt or complained. She sighed and dropped the water back into the pouch, and laid down on the bed. For a few seconds he stood there awkwardly, until he realized that he was supposed to be doing something. "I'll- uh -leave now."

"No problem Tai..." She immediately rolled over, dropping into sleep like a rock being thrown into a lake.

His earlier embarrassment replaced, he rolled his eyes and left the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. Just as he walked out into the courtyard, he saw Bolin walking over the bridge towards him. He stopped for a bit, and tilted his head. "Hey man! Uh...wasn't that Korra's room?"

Tai glanced at him. "Yeah...why?"

"Well you walked out of there..."

"Uh huh."

"And I think I'm making a assumption here..."

"No."

"What?"

"No I didn't do what you think I did."

"And what did I think you were doing?" He said with a smirk.

"Oh. Many things. Cleaning the walls, organizing some stuff, feeding her polar-bear dog."

"Whoops."

"We were both beaten up, so she offered to heal me, and she needed my help with some bandages. Didn't really get farther than that. Where'd Mako and Asami go?"

"Due to nearly getting my head literally blown away, Tenzin let me go while he gave them a job to do. I think I won that one." He said smugly. Mentally chalking one for him and a zero for his brother.

He moved closer to Tai, settling just in front of him with his arms crossed. "You know I haven't really asked this..."

"How'd she and I meet?"

"Iiiif you'd elaborate."

He thought about it for a bit. So far Bolin has been fairly nice to him, and to be honest, he was fun to be around, of course he'd never say it outright, what with ruining his mystique and all, but he was okay. He decided on his answer.

"I was badly hurt, and Amon was about to end it for me, when I looked over and saw a group of benders coming into the warehouse. She was among them. So Amon runs straight at her, and I managed to stop him from hurting her. Next thing I know, I'm at the station being interrogated, and the next morning I came here for training and for a place to stay." He held up his arms. "The whole sad story."

"That's intense, I can't say I understand why you took that guy on alone though, scares the hell out of me."

"He took someone important away." he said quickly and matter-of-factly.

Bolin fell silent for a moment. "I think I can relate to that." his voice quiet to the point of a whisper.

"If it's alright with you, I really want to stop there."

"Say no more, buddy." Bolin went to lean against the cherry tree nearby, his face partially framed by the sun as it lowered towards the horizon. "This place is very..."

"Boring?" Tai said. Bolin nodded vigorously, making him chuckle. He looked around, and suddenly hit upon something.

"Wanna be a nuisance?"

"Oh, yes."

* * *

The sun was long hidden by now, having been replaced by the moon slowly rising into its place among the stars. The main building was lit up, and laughter came from within.

"You'll be fixing that tomorrow and building a new one for the next MONTH! What drove the two of you to do such a thing? It took me a hour to calm Oogi down!", Tenzin was absolutely livid, and was well on the way to looking very similar to a tomato.

Even Pema was doubled over in laughter with tears coming from her eyes. "Honey, I think they had other priorities on their minds!"

"Urrrgh!" He took on a evil presence, and his voice went cold, and his thoughts menacing as they rushed into a very dark place. "There are some very steep cliffs around here you know."

Tai and Bolin kept laughing, ignoring the fact that a master airbender had just threatened to end their short lives. Korra couldn't stop either, coughing slightly as her ribs ached a little. "You have to admit, it was pretty hilarious!"

"That's it! You are both banned from even going near the stables. It's a wonder you two have even survived this far without-"

"Am I interrupting?"

Everyone looked up, and saw a brown skinned man dressed in a very fashionable light blue great coat. His hair was done in three ponytails, and the heady scent of perfume followed him around.

"Ponytail man." Came the dark tone of a little girl sitting next to her dad.

"Tarrlok? What are you doing here?" Tenzin asked suspiciously.

"Just checking up on our young avatar's progress." he purred, winking at said avatar. Oddly enough he kept throwing looks at the dark-haired boy sitting next to her.

"She's doing fine." he said quickly, arching an eyebrow as he kept his gaze fixed on the young councilman. "Why are you really here?"

"You may not have noticed, sitting out on the bay, but Republic City is in need of the avatar." The airbender barely suppressed a scowl as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He always used that excuse.

"I know you, you just want to use her for your own reasons!"

The younger man nodded. "I do, Tenzin. As one the representatives on the council, I only want to help my city and her people, and will do it anyway I can. Amon is up to-"

"Where?" Everyone turned to Tai, different levels of confusion or shock on them.

Tarrlok laughed politely. "Why I do, young man. And I'd like you to be there when we catch him."

"In what way?"

The older man shrugged. "Simple, join my taskforce and you can help me take him down, the city will thank you for it and this time you'll have a full team of veteran benders to back you up." he winked knowingly at the boy.

"What does he mean this 'time'?" Mako asked from his place in between his girlfriend and brother.

Tai ignored him. This was it, he finally had another shot at getting the bastard! He noticed the look of concern in Korra's eyes. He was about to speak up, when she beat him to it. "Tai what are you doing!"

"He's the reason I came he-" he started, not believing that she was trying to tell him not to do this.

"You'll only get hurt! Or worse-"

"I don't care."

Korra growled in frustration at how stupidly he was acting. "Fine!" She crossed her arms, shooting Tai a dark look. In response his eyes softened, and he sighed despondently.

"Avatar, I believe your leave of absence is over, I want you working with us to get to him. I'll see you both at headquarters, be there by 7:00 Am." Tarrlok bowed, and left the room, and all of the silence within.

Tai cleared his throat, and stood up from the table, leaving without a word. He purposefully kept his gaze ahead of him, not daring to look at anyone.

* * *

He found himself wandering over to the cliff he found a couple of days earlier, and sat down on the soft grass, trying to get his head clear of everything. Time seemed to drop away, and shortly enough, he absolutely had no clue how long he'd been out there, and to be honest, it wasn't a issue for him. The cold breeze gave him no trouble, he simply used a bit of air and fire bending to keep the space around him free of the cold. He thought he saw someone approaching from behind, only for him or her to quickly disappear.

He had a feeling he knew who it was, and didn't really want to go through it with her so soon. As he was about to relax and continue watching the dark waters lap silently against the cliff face, another shadow fell over him.

"Are you sure about this?" Tenzin asked.

"Of course I'm sure." came his response, although not as adamant as he wanted it to be.

"Korra told me what happened in that building."

"Did she leave out the part where I saved her?" he said with a bit too much bite, glancing up at his master for the inevitable lecture.

"Actually that was the part she talked the most about."

Tai ignored him, preferring to let his own mind sort out everything, and failing in the attempt. Instead it kept going over one little detail. "Whatever."

Tenzin rolled his eyes. "Don't do anything you'll regret Tai."

Like he hadn't already. "I'll be on her squad, so I don't say anything bad happening to us."

"Alright. Meet me near the -ugh- remains, of the stable, 6:30 Am. I need to leave early for council duties."

He walked away, leaving the boy to his thoughts. Great. Now he really was regretting this.

* * *

潮


	6. The Politician, and the Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Korra and Tai investigate a possible lead to Amon, a familiar face from his past shows up.

  
潮

* * *

  
The sun did its best to shine through the thick clouds over the east but failed miserably, only managing to cast a faint warm glow over the city. Down on a little island in the bay, a teen, wearing a black great coat with a black scabbard carried on his back yawned and stretched, absently noting a small pair of green eyes staring at him from the interior of a bush nearby.  
  
Suddenly the eyes disappeared, and the bush slightly rustled as if something was making a desperate escape from a coming storm.  
  
Korra walked towards him, flashing him a dark look every now and then. She had her arms crossed as she stood near him, clearly still pissed-off about his decision.  
  
The boy honestly couldn't figure out why though. She knew why he was here, she knew who he was after, she should have seen this coming. But if that was the case, than why did he think those sounded like excuses? He avoided looking at her, settling for staring intently at the ground in front of him, casually admiring the intricate dirt formations, the lovely swirls of soil…  
  
Yeah he was not great at it.  
  
He sighed and looked back up. I should say something he reasoned. Why? His brain argued. I've obviously done something wrong haven't I? He replied to his thinking muscle. Right, yeah good point, she could flatten you into the earth easily. You know what? Try it like this… "Uh, so! Great food last night wasn't it?" he said, off to a brilliant start, he sealed the trainwreck with a nervous chuckle.  
  
The only thing answering him was the cold and lonely wind blowing into his face. He decided to go for broke, he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "Okay, look, I'm sorry alright?"  
  
No answer from her. But he did see a slight look in his direction, wasn't sure if it held anger or something positive though. "I messed up. I shouldn't have done that."  
  
She looked up. "Tenzin's here." She stated.  
  
Their master walked out of the house, as unwavering as ever. "Ready you two?" He walked over to Oogi, sitting on top of him with a graceful leap.  
  
Korra settled in at the back of the saddle, pointedly looking in every direction but his. He shrugged hopelessly and clambered onto the Bison, placing himself on a spot in the middle. With a slight lurch, they lifted away, gliding towards the still sleeping buildings of Republic City. They flew fairly low, enough that a few times the spray from the water sometimes covered them, Korra compensated by subtly bending the spray away from them, and yet for some reason Tai was still getting soaked.  
  
Tenzin rolled his eyes and focused forwards, guiding the Bison through and over the tall buildings and elaborate townhouses of the more well-off boroughs of the city. The cluster of buildings and maze of roads beneath soon gave way to a much more open and more thought out span of road, running parallel on the edge of the district. The police headquarters dominated this road, and was growing larger and larger as Tenzin guided Oogi down in front of it.  
  
With a snort he landed, at which Korra immediately jumped out of the saddle, waiting impatiently for Tai to follow. As he went to stand next to her, Tenzin looked at both of them. "Watch yourself when dealing with Tarrlok. He has a motive behind everything he does." He said with a knowing look in his eye.  
  
He led the way, going towards the heavy double doors of the main entrance, they made their way directly to the reception desk, at which a bubbly woman with sandy brown hair smiled most cat-like at them. "Councilman Tenzin! And the-" She seemed to squeal a little, garnering strange looks from all three of them. "Avatar Korra?"  
  
"Yeah, that's me." Korra smiled a bit uncertainly at her.  
  
She didn't seem to notice that Tai was standing there, now that her eyes were filled with the presence of the avatar.  
  
Tenzin spoke fairly quickly, and loudly to get her attention. "Where is Tarrlok, miss?"  
  
"Just down this hallway, everyone's gathered for a speech of his!" She pointed down the hallway on their left, the floor a highly polished dark grey color, with many thick metal doors protruding slightly from the also-metal walls. Everything was metal.  
  
His eyebrow lowered, although it was almost sure it was going to be called up again. He inclined his head. "Thank you."  
  
They had to weave and sometimes push their way through the massive number of people in the hallway, some were on the uncomfortable looking benches that lined the walls between each door, and there was even a old lady with a massive platypus bear next to her, patiently waiting for the room nearby to free up for her appointment.  
  
The doorway at the end was open, and Tenzin led them over to it, inside was a small crowd of officers, talking among themselves as they waited impatiently, with everyone facing a raised portion of the room that held a wooden podium, with a delicate looking microphone resting on top of it. A few of them were bandaged, and others kept favoring a leg for balance.  
  
As Korra stood next to Tenzin, and kept her gaze away from the troublesome idiot just behind her shoulder, her eyes softened, and she couldn't help feeling responsible for the injured men and women in their, still doing their jobs.  
  
She was shaken out of her self-doubts by Tenzin's hand on her shoulder. They entered, with some in the crowd turning to look at the new arrivals, quite a few of them did a double take and immediately turned back to the podium. Tai thought he saw Korra smirk at that. They moved to the far edge of the crowd, standing behind a pair of very talkative officers.  
  
"You heard?" The shorter one whispered, having to crane his neck to look his taller comrade in the eye.  
  
His taller comrade nodded curtly, wisps of dark hair poking out from under her hat. "'Course I did, Hei, it's a damn shame."  
  
"Yeah, Chief actually looked out for us, I have a bad feeling about her replacement."  
  
"I'm betting on Tarrlok. Slimy bastards been after her ass for years."  
  
He saw the short officer nod. "Things are bad enough as they are. Why wasn't Makei picked for the job? He's our best guy. Saikhan's a good guy, but he's not leadership material."  
  
"Fucking politics, Hei. It's always politics. It's a wonder Chief didn't give it up sooner."  
  
"You know why she did." his quiet voice answered her.  
  
The one on the right seemed to sag a little, her shoulders drooping. "I know, hope she gets them back. Come on Hei, we got work to do."  
  
They turned around, and Tai quickly stepped out of their way, they barely spared him a glance, but the young man - Hei - he saw who was behind him, and his mouth dropped a little. He stopped and scratched his head, confusion evident. "Wai-"  
  
"Hei!"  
  
His partner was at the door now, heading out into the hallway. He nodded vigorously and turned towards her, than back towards them, smiling awkwardly as he did so. "Coming, Nisha."  
  
Korra waved a little at the nervous officer, only serving to make him stammer and redden even more.  
  
Someone stepped out onto the raised platform, moving to stand at attention on the right side of the podium.  
  
"Shut it!"  
  
The crowd quietened down, and a few of the officers snapped to attention, staring directly at the very imposing man in front of them.  
  
He stared directly ahead with one grey eye, with a simple black eye-patch covering his left one, he gave off the impression that the looks he gave would make someone do everything in their power to get whatever they were doing done. His hair was flat at the top and cut short, giving the top of his head a fuzzy black and silver finish. He wore the same uniform as everyone else, the only differences of note being that it was a fuller black than the others, and the armor was lighter and thinner, a simple silver disc hung in place of the normal golden police badge worn on the left breast.  
  
He barely blinked as he noticed the three out of place members of the audience standing at the back, merely giving a imperceptible nod to Tenzin.  
  
As the room finally gave it's full attention to him, he spoke, plainly and clearly with a authoritative baritone. "We've got a whole slew of cases and jobs to work through today, so I'll make this one short and sweet. As you may know, Chief Bei Fong has officially resigned from her post, and the position, after careful and prudent scrutiny of all candidates, has been given to Saikhan."  
  
Tai heard Tenzin utter a phrase he would never hear from his master again. "Uh oh."  
  
The barrel chested man seemed to share his sentiment, but was professional enough not to show it outright. The officers began to mumble, with a few looking frustrated and angry, voices began to rise.  
  
"Quiet down!"  
  
"But commander Makei-"  
  
"No buts, Ishi! It is how it is. Councilman Tarrlok. If you will."  
  
"My thanks, Commander." An incredibly slimy unbodied voice said from the stages covered side.  
  
Some of the men in the crowd began showing outright hostility as the politician walked on, clapping Makei on the shoulder as if he were comrades with him. Makei saluted stiffly and walked off of the platform, taking a position at the back of the room, near Tai, Korra and Tenzin.  
  
"I thank you all, for your support and service to Republic City, I will do everything in my power to make sure that together with the new chief, we'll make the city a safer place for everyone, bender, and non-bend-"  
  
"Just shut up, and let us do our jobs!"  
  
The entire crowd laughed, and Tai saw Tarrlok's jaw clench tightly for a split second, before smiling pleasantly. He bowed to the crowd, and stepped off the stage, possibly realizing his wasted gesture as he walked towards the three of them. "Tenzin."  
  
"What are you playing at Tarrlok?" he accused outright, sick and tired of the constant games he was forced to constantly play.  
  
"I am just doing my job." he reassured, throwing a cold and malicious look at Korra as he did so. Immediately her shoulders sagged and she looked down at her feet, garnering a glare from the boy behind her.  
  
"This isn't about the city, it's about how much influence you need!"  
  
"The decision has been made, there were no other suitable candidates for Lin's position. The law enforcement needs leadership, and they have picked Saikhan for the job."  
  
"Tarrlok, you are playing in dangerous territory!"  
  
"Commander Makei will still be doing what he does best, I'll make sure that Saikhan won't get in his way. Don't you have a meeting to attend to with the other councillors, Tenzin?"  
  
Tai watched his master do another thing he'd never though were possible, glare at him with the intent to maim and possibly kill. "This will not end well, Tarrlok. I hope the city doesn't pay for your consequences."  
  
He turned to Korra and Tai. "I'll see you two right before sundown." he leveled a stare at the young councilman, before nodding to the two teens and walking towards the open door.  
  
Tarrlok watched him leave, and sighed. "He should know whats best for the city."  
  
"He does." Tai said.  
  
"Indeed. I just get a bit worried that living on that island hasn't dulled him to the city's problems."  
  
"Save it, just tell me what I need to do." The boy folded his arms together, averting the girls eyes at all costs.  
  
"Right, to the point then. Follow me."  
  
Tarrlok walked out into the hallway, Korra and Tai quickly followed him as he headed down a flight of stairs in the lobby. They went down two flights, before it leveled out into a network of gray corridors, they went past massive rooms holding all sorts of equipment, gyms, training areas, offices and interrogation rooms.  
  
He opened a pair of metal doors, nodding to the two occupants of the room, the taller of them was in full police gear, wearing a full face helmet that resembled a snarling wolf, and obscured his features, only a light brown chin visible underneath it, the one next to him, was significantly shorter than he was, and had wide, amber eyes framed by shoulder length black hair, and wore a simple red tunic and leather leggings. A map of the city took up most of the wall, and around it were several pictures of Amon, and even more of his equalist followers. Korra frowned when she noticed that Tai had fixated on one in particular, and her thoughts about him softened for a moment.  
  
A long table stood in the center of the room, identical to three others shoved up against the smooth and cold walls, on either end of the table was a latch, that anchored it to the others if need required it.  
  
Tarrlok gestured for everyone to sit down. Korra sat down first, making sure to keep a few chairs free between her and Tai. The raven haired girl sat on a chair directly opposite him, glancing in his direction every now and then. Her friend sat across from Korra, and kept his gaze on the map.  
  
"Avatar, Tai. Meet the other half of your squad."  
  
The girl stood up from her seat, bowing towards them. "My name is Sensha, a pleasure to meet you both." She sat back down, her pale cheeks flushing slightly. The enigmatic armored fellow stood up silently, nodding to them both. "Boto."  
  
Korra stiffened, and nodded rigidly as he sat back down. What the?  
  
Tarrlok cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention to him and the map. "If we're finished?"  
  
He pointed to a bogglingly dense cluster of buildings near the city's southern waterfront. "This is the Ling-Shan industrial district, unofficially known as the 'walk'. It used to refine and purify rare metals brought down from the mountains around Republic City, chief among these metals were platinum and tungsten. From the reports of the incident at the Sato manor, the equalist machines seemed to be entirely made up from these two metals. Meaning they have almost complete immunity against fire bending, and metal bending attacks."  
  
He dragged his finger across to a picture of a group of men and women wearing clashing colors, noticeable even with the sepia tone photographs.  
  
"These men and women are big-shots from each of the bending triads. Taken at a rare moment of them not tearing each other apart." He pointed to the massive giant on the left side of the photo, his boulder sized biceps and broad squashed nose standing out the most. "Quan the Quaker. Head enforcer of the Rolling Moles Triad. Earth benders."  
  
His finger dragged over to the Fire Nation woman on the opposite side from Quan, who despite not looking more than nineteen years old had a edge of indistputable cruelty and cunning to her. "Oranis, one of the three Red Poles of the Agni Kais. Fire benders."  
  
Finally he settled on the man in between both of them, thin and gaunt with eyes the colour of the deep ocean abyss, and his white teeth sharpened to a fine point, he had the look of a predator about him, even more so than the other two. "And we have Rorik, head honcho of the Red Monsoons. Water Benders." His finger settled onto a picture of a warehouse haphazardly shoved in between two high rise apartment buildings. "This is one of the known meeting places of the triads."  
  
"Also known as killing grounds." Boto grimly stated. Sensha glanced at him worryingly, while Korra clenched her hands unknowingly and Tai merely nodded.  
  
Tarrlok nodded as well. "It lies at a junction, where their territories overlap, always comes up in the headlines every month or so."  
  
"But." He pointed to a photo take from across a street, focusing on a window inside which a group of masked figures wearing dark uniforms sat around a table, one of them was hooded, and the other was unmasked, a girl just about to hit twenty or so with grey eyes, black hair and pale skin. "This particular group of Equalists has been spotted more on three separate occasions in the area, we believe them to be a hit squad, tasked with disrupting Triad leadership."  
  
"They're waiting for the triads to set up a meeting point, and then they'll swoop in for their prizes." Tai answered mechanically, not noticing a approving nod from Tarrlok as his gaze lingered on the familiar looking grey-eyed girl.  
  
"Good deduction. That's where we come in.  We'll meet with an informant near the area, they will give us the time and day of the meeting, and when the Equalists go after the leaders, we restrain and apprehend both parties." Tarrlok smiled like a cat at his cunning.  
  
Korra eyed him suspiciously. "I'm pretty sure the three of them won't come alone, even if there's only four of us. Granted, I am the Avatar."  
  
"I'm getting to that. Your squad will be inserted by drop ship, at a police outpost just south of the district's edge. From there you and Boto will meet the informant, while Tai and Sensha will scout out the warehouse. You'll all meet back at the outpost with the strike team and crash the meeting. Boto will be in charge. Got it?"  
  
Sensha and Boto nodded, and immediately left the room.  
  
"So what's their story?" Tai asked.  
  
"Sensha is a fire bending prodigy, I recruited her after a little run-in she had with the law two years ago."  
  
"And Boto?"  
  
"A member of the Southern Water Tribe, he actually came to me a couple of years ago. We have history."  
  
"Are we the only members of your task force?" He pressed, wanting to know if anyone would get in his way with Amon.  
  
The politician shook his head with a smirk. "Of course not. Your squad is meant only for infiltration and reconnaissance, nothing more."  
  
"Will we be needed everytime the Equalists show up?"  
  
Tarrlok chuckled. "Only if you're offering. It's quite rare for an operation this squad does to last more than a few hours. Essentially, your squad is only involved in flashpoint operations. Don't tell me you have other things to do?"  
  
"Yeah. Studying."  
  
He smirked as the councilman's head shook. "This is more important than blowing leaves around."  
  
"Tai! Let's get going!" Korra was standing next to the other two, waiting impatiently with her arms crossed.  
  
He nodded and left the room and Tarrlok behind, following the group to a freight elevator at the end of the hall.  
  


* * *

_Ling-Shan Industrial District, Police Outpost._

The heavy whump-whump of the airship seemed to be talking for everybody, as they all sat in the passenger compartment, staring out of the windows, or in the case of Tai and Sensha, getting to know each other.  
  
"You know, I can bend fire." He eloquently began, not quite sure if he was already bragging or not.  
  
"That's nice." she nodded and smiled at him before looking back at the mid-morning city below.  
  
"Air as well."  
  
She blinked twice and stepped back from the window, and looked at him with her head tilted. "That's odd."  
  
"Yeah, I'm a rarity."  
  
"Still doesn't compare to all four of 'em." He ground his teeth quietly at the sound of her haughty tone, glancing daggers at Korra as she chuckled and turned back to looking out at the rapidly growing buildings.  
  
"Anyway." He turned back to Sensha, and was momentarily lost in her stunningly beautiful eyes. With a start he noticed her mouth was moving as well.  
  
"-at do you think Tai?"  
  
"...Yes." He dumbly stated, going for his default answer to a question he didn't understand or hear.  
  
She laughed and he felt his cheeks tinge red. "You didn't hear me did you?"  
  
"I'm sorry." he mumbled.  
  
"Don't be, it's alright." She smiled at him, showing how cute her dimples were...no,no, focus!  
  
"Umm so, do you like Republic City?" He asked, pretty sure that was a normal thing to ask.  
  
"Lived here all my life, I have to love it. It can get a little big sometimes, but I'm living with my grandma, and where we are it's not so bad. What about you?"  
  
He walked over to the window, and pointed at the island in Yue bay. "There."  
  
"The Air Temple?" she said with not a small tone of wonder.  
  
"Yeah it's kind of temporary though."  
  
"I'm sorry, were you living on the streets before?" she carefully asked, taking in his rather ramshackle appearance.  
  
He laughed and held up his hands. "What? No, no, no, nothing like that! I'm just a traveler."  
  
She perked up. "Oh!...so you don't have a place where you can come home to?"  
  
"Well I guess the island is becoming like that for me. Although it has gotten a little crowded recently." that reminded him. "I should tell Bolin to stop taking m-"  
  
"Wait, Bolin? Does that mean you are living with _the Mako and Bolin_?" Her eyes practically sparkled at the mere uttering of their names and it looked she was about ready to lose her balance..  
  
"Uhh, Yeah. Asami Sato as well."  
  
"The daughter of Hiroshi Sato?"  
  
"That's the one."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, Korra told me that Mako and Bolin were going to stay in Asami's father's mansion, until he was exposed as a-"  
  
The whumping noise ceased, and a door at the front of the compartment was flung open, with a middle aged, balding man pulling down a lever nearby. He looked outside, watching spools of thick rope launch towards the top of the building below, locking into heavy looking weights. The winchs activated, and brought them closer to the building with a slight lurch. The pilot grumbled, and after a few moments opened the door.  
  
"Everybody out!"  
  
Boto nodded and exited first, with Korra following him closely. Tai and Sensha made their way over, this somehow annoyed the old man. "Come on, I haven't got all day!"  
  
Tai rolled his eyes as he passed through, and waited at the lip of the roof for Sensha. As soon as everyone was off, the airship retracted its lines, and pulled away from the roof, heading off to a unknown destination.  
  
"Come on." Boto was waiting by a fire escape, which wound it's way down the back of the building to the alleys below. They descended, touching solid ground a few minutes later. He held up a hand, and took off his helmet. His chin was square, and could probably be used as a lantern frame. His eyes were a light blue, and overall he was of a fairly solid build, Tai guessed he'd have no shortage of girls all over him if he took the helmet off more regularly.  
  
"Boto-"  
  
"Sorry I couldn't say anything back at the station Korra, not with him around."  
  
"No it's fine, but...heh, how long has it been?"  
  
he scratched the back of his neck. "Probably, four years or so."  
  
"I...you idiot." She scowled and punched him on the shoulder.  
  
He winced, feeling it underneath the armor. And smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. Couldn't really talk to anyone."  
  
"Why is it, every guy I know does something so stupid!" She glared at Boto, and more pointedly, at Tai.  
  
"Uh, do you two know each other?" Sensha asked.  
  
"We played together as kids. They really didn't like you sneaking out to do that did they?"  
  
She shrugged indifferently. "If Katara said it was okay, that's all I needed."  
  
"How is she?" Boto asked, with a wistful look.  
  
"I don't really know, kind of haven't had a chance to write to her."  
  
"Umm, aren't we supposed to be doing something right now? Really hate to break this up." Tai asked.  
  
"Oh. Yes." Boto shrugged and his cheeks flushed a bit. Nothing at all like Tai had pictured a guy wearing a fearsome suit to be like.  
  
"Do you know how to signal the informant?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. Don't worry about that. The warehouse is only two blocks from here. Just head up to the roof of one of the buildings across the street, should be a direct path there. Good luck." He nodded at Korra and they both left towards the street. Tai and Sensha took the other way, so as not to arouse suspicion.  
  
They passed a pair of juggling bears on their way across, and Tai quickly flicked a coin into the hat between them. When the traffic allowed it, they made it to the other side, quickly ducking into one of the alleyways that led to the backs of the buildings lining the street.  
  
Once they were behind the building, they found a fire escape that lead all the way to the roof, the only obstacle being the ladder was out of their reach. Sensha sighed. "We'll have to find another way up." Meanwhile Tai cracked his knuckles and assumed a very theatrical and unnecessary pose. "Watch and learn."  
  
Without warning he wrapped his arms around her, and pointed his open palm towards the ground. The air beneath their feet rushed up, and he directed the flow towards the fire escape. With a clang they landed, and Sensha freed herself from his embrace. And suddenly he felt very self conscious as she smiled weakly at him. "Good job."  
  
"It's what I do."  
  
They rushed up the steps, steadily ascending to the roof. Once they got there they could see the back of the warehouse from where they were. Tai looked for a way across, and studied the layout of the roofs between them and their target. He scanned from left to right, and found their path.  
  
"This way."  
  
He ran towards the roof on their left, clearing the gap with no effort. Sensha closely followed him, stumbling a little as she touched down. She nodded, to show she was okay, and he continued, running towards the back edge of the roof, he jumped again, rolling to negate the impact as he landed on the next roof. She followed as best she could, but they ran into a problem when the gap between them and the next roof was too wide.  
  
"May I?" He held his hand out to Sensha, without a word she took it, and held on tight. With his other hand he whirled it around, and ran forwards. He threw it forwards, and the air beneath them carried them across the gap with no effort at all. They landed softly on the other side, and walked to the next edge, overlooking a massive space filled with containers, all of which surrounded the warehouse.  
  
"Looks like it's a no go from this side, let's- get down!" Sensha pulled him down, so that they were both behind the low wall that ran around the roof's edge. Tai poked his head up, and spotted a group of figures on a roof right across from the warehouse. "It's the Equalists."  
  
One of their number wore no mask, and was scanning the area with a pair of binoculars. They both froze, unsure of what to do. Tai looked up again, and and saw the binoculars looking straight at him. He cursed and ducked back down. They waited for what seemed like forever, until Sensha looked over the wall, and saw that the roof they occupied was now deserted.  
  
"They're gone. Why'd you swear before?" She asked.  
  
"I think one of them saw me."  
  
She sighed and shook her head. "Hopefully they'll think it's just a dumb kid they saw. Let's get back to the others."  
  


* * *

A crowd of children, wearing patched together clothes, ran around the place, some kicked a empty and beaten up can around, some of the luckier ones tossed a half deflated ball between them, while others sat and talked or mingled with the people passing by, some making off with a few shiny objects for their trouble.  
  
One of the tallest of them, stood around, adjusting a tan colored train conductors hat every once in a while. Korra shot a questioning glance at Boto as they approached the boy. "Boto?"  
  
The tall southern triber smiled lazily as he extended a hand in greeting. "Skoochy! How you been?"  
  
"Same old, whaddya need?" the urchin tilted his head an arched an eyebrow, already getting straight to the point. He noticed Korra, and a snigger came out of him.  
  
"Actually..." he dug through a pocket on his uniform, and came out with a bag that jingled whenever touched. "I think it's more about what you need." He tossed the bag to Skoochy, who grinned obnoxiously as he caught it and slipped it into his pocket.  
  
"Whaddya need to know?"  
  
"Triads are having a meeting at the old warehouse the block over, know when?"  
  
Skoochy scratched the side of his nose as he shrugged. "Yeah, right after sundown, a big one too, all of the top dogs are gonna be there." He glanced at Korra. "Who's she? Girlfriend?"  
  
If he was hoping Boto's cheeks would redden, he was in for a surprise. The young smiled and shook his head as Korra's cheeks burned. "Nope. Just a friend of mine."  
  
"Okay. I bet dating the Avatar would have gained you a little cred around here." He smirked and ran off, anticipating Korra's train of thought before she got there herself.  
  
"...Anyway?" He glanced at Korra, averting her eyes for a bit.  
  
"Skoochy huh?" She said. Her eyes narrowing as a warning.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Smart kid?"  
  
"Has to be where he lives."  
  
"Uh huh. We got the info, can we head back now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She walked away first, trying to stifle a laugh that threatened to engulf her entire body in hilarity.  
  
Boto sighed and followed, trying to focus on the mission.  
  


* * *

_Ling-Shan District, 6:00PM._

  
  
"There they all are. Just like Skoochy said." Boto glanced at Korra. "Remind me to tip him next time."  
  
She chuckled and looked back to the massive warehouse windows, which gave them a ample view of the scene inside. Three uniquely dressed people, each with a entourage of around five guards each, were staring at each other, their mouths moving to make words that unknowable to those looking in on them.  
  
At least two members from each side split from the main group, presumably to make their way outside to patrol and make sure they weren't interrupted.  
  
Tai noticed this. "Something doesn't add up. They haven't got that many men with them. You'd think with something like this going down, they'd bring more thugs along for protection."  
  
Boto nodded, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he surveyed the scene. "My guess is they're idiots."  
  
He stifled a laugh as Sensha glanced at them. "So what do we do?"  
  
"We observe. Once the Equalists you and Tai saw show up, we'll take them all down. Got a squad of metal benders ready to go at the bottom of this building.  
  
They continued watching, seeing some of the thugs fidget and eye their rivals, probably trying to psyche them out. Others kept an eye on their bosses, while they argued and bickered among themselves. The woman, Oranis, seemed to be winning her negotiations with Quan, while Rorik looked on impassively with a bored face beginning to show. The massive earth bender's face reddened, in response to something Oranis had said. They could hear the shouts from their perch as the Earth Benders began to surge towards the fire benders. Oranis jumped back into the middle of her entourage, with Quan directing a massive wall of earth at her, which was blown into pieces by a combined attack. As soon as both groups focused on each other, Rorik merely made a simple gesture to his men.  
  
They made sweeping motions with their arms, and traced several large arcs with their movements. Suddenly the building began to fill with thick, soupy fog, and just before their view was completely obscured, they saw seven shadowy blurs drop down into the melee from the opposite window. Several shouts of alarm were heard, and the building was thrown into a utter state of chaos.  
  
"That's our cue." Boto ran to the edge of the roof and looked down, spotting the commander at the bottom. He gave him a thumbs up, and Makei nodded. He led the squad of heavily armored officers towards the buildings perimeter, and they ripped through the fence without any effort.  
  
He turned to the other three. "Let's go."  
  
Tai took the scabbard off of his back, and held it in both hands. He leapt off of the building to the shipping crates below, slowing his descent with a controlled push of the air to slow him down. The other followed, using the fire escape nearby to descend after him.  
  
He kept running, jumping onto the shipping crates to get easy access to the buildings roof. As he got closer he could hear the sounds of fighting from within, of the earth being disturbed, of fire being manipulated to deadly extent, and the faint and raspy breathing of gas masks. All of this inside the fog. He scaled the buildings side, running up a slanted roof to the next level of the building. He jumped, grabbing the roof's edge and pulling himself up. He found himself in front of one of the massive side windows of the warehouse, currently staring into the thick soupy fog spilling out from every opening.  
  
Without hesitation he dived into it, clearing a small bubble of clear air around him for visibility. He slowed his descent and hit the floor, immediately ducking as a ball of rock flew over him, barely missing the top of his head. Working on instinct, he swung his sword around, catching a earth bender on the side of the head with a solid hit, with a sigh he crumpled to the floor instantly, just as a wave of fire passed over him. He moved cautiously, extending his senses to detect disturbances in the fog around him, being an aerial element, it was simply done.  
  
Behind, three metres. He turned around, and dropped to the floor, sweeping his right leg in a wide arc. It caught someones foot, and a woman wearing a blue and red tunic cried out as she lost her balance, she wobbled, and it gave the mound of earth flying at her an opening. It slammed into her chest, sending her flying back into the soupy fog. He sensed a massive object coming at him from the side, and he quickly turned to face it, swinging his weapon to create a crescent of wind, it flew forwards, slicing through the projectile, it dissipated, leaving a gruff voice to wonder out loud what that was.  
  
Tai didn't stand still, he ran forwards towards the source, and leapt towards it, crashing into a absolute giant of a man. He collided with his iron like chest, seeing stars swirl at the corners of his vision. The man barked a deep laugh, and hoisted him up with one hand. With a snarl he sent his other gigantic fist towards Tai.  
  
"Hey!" He was interrupted by a tumble of rocks slamming into his side, stumbling him a little and causing him to drop the agile boy to the floor. Korra hoisted Tai to his feet, smirking.  
  
"No time to boast, there's two of them behind you!"  
  
She whipped around instantly, and slammed her hands together, a massive spout of fire erupted, and rushed forwards with concussive force, dissipating a good twenty metres away. A sword suddenly rushed towards her from the side, it's blade wickedly curved, made of a blackened metal, a gloved hand flexed slightly behind the thick spiked handguard as it guided the blade forwards.  
  
"Duck!" Tai shouted. Almost instantly she did so, and thrust her palm towards the floor. A patch of earth sprung up under the blade, knocking it off course. Than another one appeared, slashing viciously at her from the opposite side. Tai quickly threw himself in front of her, his sword's naked blade sparking as the heavier metal hit it's edge. He grunted, and held onto it with one hand, bringing his other around to blast a gust of wind at the unknown attacker.  
  
As he was distracted by the two swords, Oranis fired a massive stream of flames at his back. Sensha dropped in behind him and whipped her arms around, banishing the blistering attack into nothing. She responded with a two handed thrust forwards, sending a burning retort towards her. The raven haired woman cursed and dodged out of the way. "Come on little girl!"  
  
She nodded to Tai, and ran towards the Agni Kai leader with a snarl on her features. Great breaths of fire flashed and burned, illuminating parts of the grey fog with a dull orange tone. Sensha ducked and weaved, barely dodging the much stronger flames Oranis threw at her, her face was one of unbridled ferocity as she snarled and launched a relentless assault on the teen. She spun and redirected the flames as best she could, thankful for the heat-resistant material of her clothing.  
  
Bit by bit she was being pushed back, and her eyes widened in surprise as she found a corner of the warehouse two metres behind her. Her opponent seemed to sense this, and snarled as she leapt straight at her, a chilling look in her eyes as she extended a hand wreathed in flames towards her chest.  
  
"Sensha!" A armored figure crash tackled Oranis, both of them slamming into the wall nearby with a clang. Pinning her to the ground was Boto, his light brown chin visible underneath the snarling visage of his wolf helmet. The fire bender raised her head and Boto slammed a fist into it to get her out for good. With a sigh her eyes fluttered and closed. "You okay?"  
  
She walked towards him a bit unsteadily. "Yes, just a bit shaken."  
  
"Happens to all of us."  
  
"I didn't see any of the Equalists in there."  
  
"They're probably around, most likely around the back of the fight. They do the smart thing."  
  
She nodded, and they ran back in, Sensha yelling a cry of alarm as she pulled Boto back, a black sword blade slicing the air in front of him.  
They ignored it, and kept going, only for the smile of a shark to rear up towards them, as Rorik tripped up Sensha, and put a boot on her throat and pushing down. Her eyes went wide and she looked desperately at him, a choked gurgle as a plea for help.  
  
Boto acted quickly, whipping his leg around to slam into the criminal. He smiled again, and caught it with one hand, a ugly saw toothed knife appearing in the other. He pointed it at his victim, and Boto quickly stopped struggling.  
  
"You move a inch, and she gets it." he noticed the look of helpless anger on the youth's face, and smiled. "What's the matter, not having fun Boto?" using his name caused the boy to glare daggers at him.  
  
"Leave her, Rorik."  
  
"Why should I? I like fun."  
  
"This is between you and me, she's not a part of it!"  
  
"Oh you're right about that. But that's what makes it exciting; watching who gets caught up in someones business."  
  
He smiled at Sensha, sending shivers up her spine. She gasped for air as he put the pressure on, leaving a gigantic bruise on her neck. Boto had a desperate look in his eyes, mind working at how he could use his abilities to get her away from the madman. Shouting came from outside, as a massive rend in the buildings metal wall opened it to the outside, revealing a line of armored men charging in, sending tendrils of metal into the fog. A few of them hit their targets, and members from the Agni Kais and Rolling Moles were dragged out of the fog, wrapped in a coil of metal wire.  
  
Rorik's eyes barely flickered towards the disturbance, instead focusing on Boto, boring into him. "I'll see you around, boy." He smiled again, showing his white teeth, all of which were filed to a insanely sharp point. He lifted his foot off of Sensha, allowing her to roll back towards her friend. Boto bent down to help her up, supporting her by placing her arm on his shoulder.  
  
The man disappeared into the soupy fog, his terrible smile the last they saw of him. "Guys, you alright?"  
  
Boto turned them around, seeing Tai. "We're fine!" he glanced at Sensha. "Damn, I can't-"  
  
She swallowed, gasping a bit as it gave her a bit of pain. Korra ran up to them. "No need. I can." she gathered all of the water particles in the fog into a blob, thinning it to mere wisps of its former self. She guided the water to Sensha's neck, and it pulsed softly as it dulled the pain.  
  
Sensha nodded gratefully as Korra worked on her neck and shoulder, running the blob over the heavily bruised portions until they began to diminish in size. "Thanks." she shook her head experimentally, glad that the pain was no longer there as Korra smiled at her, her tongue stuck out as she concentrated on controlling the blob.  
  
Tai sheathed his sword, looking around at the carnage, noticing that none of the Equalists were in the building. A scraping noise alerted him, and he looked up one of the massive side windows. A black boot disappeared through it. He turned to the others. "I'll take care of it!"  
  
"Tai wait-" Korra looked up from Sensha's shoulder, worry in her eyes as she took a step forward.  
  
But he didn't wait. He sprinted towards the window, using a push of air to get him up to it. He ran outside, nearly slipping on the wet roof panels as he left the sounds of frustration and worry behind . The air was thick with lashes of rain, and the wind was blowing furiously. He paid it no mind, focusing on the hooded figure disappearing over a roof top fifty metres away, a pair of black swords sheathed onto his back.  
  
He found a path among the shipping crates, and started running. He leapt from the warehouse, rolling to negate the impact as he hit the top of a red crate. He kept going, leaping across to a blue one, and than lunged upwards, grabbing the edge of the one stacked above it. With a grunt he pulled himself up, the back of a apartment complex was visible past the fence line, and luckily held a fire escape near his level, it was just close enough for him to leap for. His fingers reached for the railing, getting a purchase on it, he held on tightly, any weaker grip would have made him slip off.  
  
He clambered the stairs quickly, reaching the top of the roof in no time at all. The next building was a low and long one, only half the height of the one he stood on. As he leapt towards it's roof, he saw the fleeing group of equalists disappear yet again, too far away for him to keep track off. He didn't give up, and ran across the low building's roof after them. Suddenly the hooded equalist was in front of him, standing silently in the rain, head slightly bowed.  
  
He skidded to a halt, slightly out of breath. He didn't take his eyes off of his obstacle, wary of his skills. Both of the black blades appeared, one in each hand, and he walked slowly towards Tai. The boy sent a blast of air at him, only for the swordsman to spin around it, and rush forward, both blades extended towards him. He cursed and let himself drop low, getting his sword out as he did so. He twisted out from under the twin points, and slashed at the figure from the left side. Inexplicably the Equalist took his head off, revealing a young man's face.  
  
Tai hesitated, shock showing in his eyes. He quickly twisted the deadly blade off course and was rewarded by a swift and powerful kick to the chest. He coughed and spluttered, crying out in pain as he was sent sliding back across the wet concrete.  
  
The young man's grey eyes bore into his with unbridled hatred.  
  
"Big Brother?"  
  


* * *

潮


	7. The Reunion, and the Old Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having run off on his own after a Equalist straggler, Tai finds that he is quickly outmatched. Korra pursues them, worried for her friend. At the same time Tenzin, Mako and Bolin follow their trail.

潮

* * *

Lashing swathes of rain fell over the city, with dark and terrible storm clouds dominating the skyline, making even tallest buildings as small as matchsticks. The city was being drowned by a torrent of water, and soon enough, warm lights appeared all across it, and airships immediately headed for the nearest berths, hoping to find shelter from the raging elements of the sky. The roads emptied of traffic, boats were put in, and the whole city slowed to a crawl.

He coughed and sputtered with each breath, curled in pain at his brother's feet. Rain traveled down the two black swords he held, falling off the tip with a plonk as it met the hard concrete roof.

"Why?" He asked between fits of pained breathing, looking up at his expressionless face, and cold grey eyes. His brother merely dipped his head a little, as if acknowledging he was being addressed. As he did this, he noticed the vestiges of cracked and scarred skin, visible behind his ears.

"My reasons are mine alone, little brother." He spoke with a clipped and neutral tone, contrasting with his fearsome appearance.

Tai managed to chuckle a bit, but with no traces of happiness or joy. "Oh, I think I can stay a while." he groaned as the pain flared up in his chest, forcing him to stop talking or moving.

"It does not matter. You will be dead, and my objective achieved." Remorse was completely absent as he gazed down at the pitiful boy on the ground.

His brain screamed at him to ask the obvious question, but he ignored it. "Dead? I didn't realise you still missed mr Limpy." He teased, purely to get some kind of reaction out his big brother.

"A simple child's toy, I left it, and everything, long ago."

He swallowed. "I thought you died, Tarrin."

Using his name had a effect on him, albeit a very small one. His eyes appeared to get some feeling behind them. "I thought you did too." they quickly lost it though, and the same dull, eyes appeared. "I need to end this."

"Why are you working with him?" Tai quickly asked, noticing Tarrin had edged a little closer, leading with both of his black swords. He quickly glanced over to his left, seeing the gleaming blade of his lying on its side. With a little bit of luck...

"He gave me purpose. Gave me a reason." The young man replied in a flat monotone, no feeling or sense in his voice.

"He killed them." Tai countered, not hiding the snarl that came up.

"No, you did." He replied simply and calmly.

Tai couldn't believe his ears. He got some feeling back in his fingers, and felt the pain in his chest dull a little, allowing him to breathe more easily. With careful and deliberate movements, he traced a sweeping arc with his index finger, hiding it behind his back so that Tarrin wouldn't notice immediately.

"He's lying!" Tai shouted, stalling for time while he completed the precise movements. Slowly he rested his hand on the ground, facing his palm towards the sky, ignoring the drops of rain splattering onto it. He quickly stole a glance at where his weapon lay, and saw it drag in his direction slightly, aligning with his palm.

"Amon does not lie." He raised one of his swords upwards, angling the tip over Tai's chest.

"I wouldn't trust a masked terrorist if I were you." He shouted suddenly, and swept his leg, stumbling Tarrin a bit. He focused, and his sword returned to his open hand, his fingers closed around the handle, feeling safer there. Tarrin rushed forwards, launching a scything flurry of moves. He blocked them, and tried to dance away from him, to use his bending safely. Soon the flurry of blows began to push him back, and he cried out as he slipped on a puddle of muddy water, and was momentarily blinded by the spray of water in his eyes. Desperately he spun around, managing to dodge the deadly swords at the same time, the droplets around him began to melt away into vapor, as he conjured a massive ring of fire around himself. He projected it outwards, forcing Tarrin to dance backwards, an uncharacteristic look of doubt in his eyes.

Tai was breathing hard after that, and wasn't ready for him. Tarrin lodged another kick in his chest, causing him to double over again. He aimed his free hand at the ground, using a pulse of air to get himself steady. Tarrin had spun around, using his momentum to loose a vicious and brutal swing of his sword at him. Without thinking, Tai weakly held his blade up, the black metal slammed into it, shearing off a good portion of the weapon's edge and nearly wrenching it out of his hands. He cursed, and began to gather flames around him again. Tarrin was ready this time, and dodged to his left effortlessly, his two swords trailing behind him. He saw his thumbs depress the bottom of both handles, and immediately the blades folded downwards, disappearing into the rough, metal blocks.

He twirled around, and slammed both blocks into Tai's side, winding him. As the boy stumbled, off balance from the unexpected move, he switched to a flurry of quick jabs, sending lances of pain spiking up his side and left arm. Tai growled and, on instinct, turned his arm towards Tarrin, his palm splayed outwards. He roared as the pain intensified, and caused his vision to flicker and blacken dangerously. He suddenly lost his senses, and tasted blood on his tongue. Tarrin lashed his boot out, catching him viciously in his already ravaged side. He slid across the slick ground, and could only stare upwards, unable to move. His brother depressed the bottom of one of the handles, and the blade flipped back out. He walked towards his defeated sibling, the obsidian tip of the sword poking towards him like the end itself.

A fork of lightning materialized in the dark skies, lighting up the entire city with a white flash. It vanished instantly, going back to the dark murky colors of the storm. Tai watched it, and heard a voice ring out to him from the warehouse's direction.

"Tai!"

He closed his eyes, not caring who needed him this time. He sensed the shadow of his big brother press towards him, absently wondering what made him into that kind of person. He was suddenly wrenched out of the dark twilight of semi-consciousness, and opened his eyes. Realizing he could move a little now, he turned to his left, and saw Korra standing in front of him, standing in Tarrin's way.

She glared at him with ocean blue eyes, a snarl visible on her. Her arms were crossed together, and she didn't even shiver as the rain and wind lashed and raged at her. "You know who I am?"

"Avatar." Tarrin replied in a guttural growl.

"That's right. Him down there." She pointed to Tai's sprawled form. "He's my friend. Bad choice."

"He would have fared a better chance if he didn't come alone."

"Don't care. You're going down."

"You don't know who you are facing, little girl."

"A idiot who thinks he can take on a master bender with two fancy toys." she beckoned with both hands, daring him to try his luck. "Try me."

"Enough." He sheathed his weapons on his back. Korra waited, eyes darting back to Tai every once in while. Have to get him out of here. Tarrin was still.

He made the first move, dashing towards Korra. She smirked and wind milled her arms, plucking the rain from the sky and combining the drops into a thick whip, she slashed it horizontally, but he jumped over it with no effort and loosed a kick towards her, she dodged around him in a circular movement, still keeping the water whip moving, She coiled it up and lashed it out towards him, he ducked and threw one of the handles at her, it struck her on the shoulder, leaving a bruise.

She grunted and lost control of the whip, the collected water splashing to the ground. She danced backwards, using her arms to direct bursts of fire at him in a constant barrage. He dodged every one of them, and got closer, he went for a jab in the stomach, before feinting and sweeping her legs out from under her, she cried out in alarm and crashed down, quickly rolling away as he went to stomp down.

The Avatar sprung back up and kicked down with her foot, raising a thick disc of earth into the air, it spun towards him, hitting him on the shoulder and forcing him back. She continued this tactic, using a long string of pushes, stomps, and throws to direct chunks of the roof at him. A few did get him, but he didn't look worn down at all, running at her full pelt. She tried to twist out of the way but he vaulted over, and had her in a iron hold. She gasped for air as his grip tightened, he growled, and flipped her forwards, sending her flying, she managed to stop herself from crashing into the ground, and quickly rolled onto her belly, facing Tarrin. She slammed the ground with her palm in four different places, and four cubes rose up. She sent them forwards at varying speeds, tripping him up. She got up, and stomped her foot down, causing a massive wall of earth to rise, she sent it forwards and it smacked into him, throwing him back a good five meters.

As she released the wall and it sunk back down, he had already recovered, leaping towards her with one of the swords fully extended, she tried a risky move, running towards him and dropping into a slide, she jabbed her elbow into the ground, and a spike of earth rose up underneath him. Like a flash his hand shot back, grabbing the tip and using it to spin around and crash into her.

His fist crunched up into her chin, and she cried out as she reacted, shunting him back with a block of concrete. It was sloppily done, and it barely gave him pause as he beared down on her, grabbing onto her arm with both hands and spinning her around, she tried to break free, but he was too strong. He suddenly let go, and she was severely dazed as she fought to stand up straight. She was panting and nearly out of breath, but not out of fight. She pressed towards him, now on the offensive, lashing out with low kicks, and punches aimed at his sides, even though he avoided them gracefully, often getting her with one twice as hard, she didn't care, only aiming to keep him from noticing the roof was running out.

Suddenly one of his heels found nothing but air, and he grunted in surprise. She narrowed her eyes, and quickly jabbed his side with a quick punch, causing his eyes to widen in confusion, she pressed the advantage, grabbing his collar and throwing him backwards towards the center of the roof. He landed hard and lay there for a second before rolling back to his feet and backing off, eying her warily.

"I've underestimated your skill." he stated.

She hid her panting with a chuckle. "Want to see more?"

"This won't end in your favor."

"Wait and see." She stole a glance at Tai, noticing increasing amounts of movement as he began to recover from his vicious beating. She quickly came up with a plan, to distract Tarrin from finishing off her friend. She opened her mouth. "Before I beat you. I'd like to know your name."

"Irrelevant."

"Oblige me."

"Tarrin."

"Tarrin. Grey eyes, same face. You're Tai's brother." She stated, hiding her surprise through a deduction. She frowned. "Why did you do this to him?"

"My own reasons."

"Nah uh. You're acting under Amon."

He seemed to bristle slightly, and she hid a smirk behind a expressionless mask. Her eyes darted over to Tai, noticing the steady breathing and his eyes flashing open, looking straight at her. He blinked, and moaned a little, Tarrin looked at him, and started towards him again. She quickly dashed forward, gathering the rain into a mass of water, she guided it towards Tarrin, and he reacted in the blink of an eye. He spun around the stream, and ran towards her, and leapt, blade extended like the finger of fate. She barely had time to cry out when the weapon bit into her shoulder, tipping her backwards. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she touched a hand to it, hardly believing what just happened.

Her vision dimmed, tinged with a crimson redness, and she plunged into unconsciousness. She didn't even feel it as the cold steel was pulled out of the wound, and her body was being pushed towards the edge of the roof like a sack of potatoes. Tarrin rested a boot on her, and was ready to tip her over the edge and into the alley below.

Suddenly Tai crashed into him, using a massive blast of wind to fling him to the other end of the roof. The Avatar fell, and he dove after her. He used a blast of wind to steady himself, gritting his teeth as the pain threatened to overcome him. He grabbed hold of her, ten meters above a dumpster filled with rubbish. He yelled and called up a cushion of air to break their fall. It hurt like hell as he hit first, Korra's weight driving into his stomach and winding him.

Tai lost control of the cushion and it pushed them upwards, he lost hold of her and she fell onto the dumpster, blood now covering her arm entirely. He was spun around, and fell face first into the wet ground. His entire body screamed at him in pain, and he ignored it, pushing it to the back of his mind.

He got up, stumbling as his ankle gave way, he held onto the lip of the dumpster, using his other hand to fish for a bandage he kept in the inside pockets. Weakly, and aware that he was about to collapse entirely, he pressed the white material against her wound and started winding, not caring for neatness. He stopped when half the roll was used up, the blood began to soak through again, and he tried to summon the energy to do it again. But his vision suddenly dimmed, and he stumbled forwards, his hand scrabbling to keep a grip on the dumpster, his foot slipped on a deepening puddle of water, and he fell to the ground, completely spent. He thought he heard a voice coming closer, but was too far gone to summon the energy to answer.

He slipped into the black completely.

* * *

_Police Headquarters, Republic City_   


The wind howled without relent, buffeting the black airship as it neared it's berthing point. A massive sliding door on it's side rolled open.

"Let's get them inside!" Makei directed his squad of metal benders, as their airship set anchor on the main landing spire. Long lengths of metal wire tethered them to the domed structure, and they walked a long line of freshly caught prisoners down the ramps, sending them down a freight elevator under armed guard.

The two most dangerous of these criminals. Quan and Oranis, were led down last, with three men assigned to each of them, their hands were bound behind them, and the massive earth bender's feet were enclosed in specialized wooden cages, specifically designed to cut off access to the ground. Makei trailed behind all of them, keeping his good eye fixed on the two of them, never looking away.

The procession stopped for a moment as the freight elevator rose back up to meet them. The officers holding the two criminals walked on first, followed by the commander. He pulled a lever affixed to the wall down, and the elevator descended into the main building. The elevator shaft had massive lengths of wiring running up its walls, the passage for the power to get to the top of the building, and provide movement to the machine.

With a slight grinding squeal, as the sparsely oiled rails complained of their purpose yet again, it reached the ground level of the building, the iron grate on it folded upwards, revealing the main artery of the building. Two officers stepped through first, yelling at people to keep their distance from the procession, they did without hesitation, quickly stepping back to give them a clear run to the main lobby.

The wide room was relatively clear of people by the time they got there. Except for a tall, reedy, bald man standing by the reception desk, just finished talking with the receptionist. Makei heard him mutter a few words of thanks to her, than bowed before walking over to him.

"Mak!"

"Councilman." He greeted Tenzin brusquely. He glanced at the procession. And addressed a officer with a golden badge on his hat. "Sergeant, take the lead from here." The man nodded and snapped off a quick salute, and led the prisoners past the two of them.

Makei gestured for Tenzin to follow. "We'll talk in my office." He explained. He led the way, heading back up the main corridor before turning to head up a staircase climbing up three levels. He stopped ascending on the second floor, and led Tenzin down a wide hallway, with dark brown paneling for walls. And a well-kept red carpet running down it.

He passed a glazed window, which held a simple wooden door in its center. He opened it, and it swung away from them noisily, giving them access to his personal office. It was practically empty compared to the ones around it, the only comforts being the massive mahogany desk sitting in front of them, and two leather chairs facing it. On the other side of the desk was another leather chair, darker in colour than the other two. He closed the door and turned to Tenzin, waiting for the stream of questions.

"Sorry about that Tenzin, couldn't really talk back there."

"I understand, the councilman always keeps a watch on everybody of note." He replied, understanding his friend's meaning.

He crossed his arms. "Where are Korra and Tai?"

Makei rubbed the back of his bald head. "Still at the location where we picked up those gang members."

"Why didn't they go back with you and your squad?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid its standard procedure. Once they've embarked on a mission, Infiltration squads cannot be seen with the rank and file officers. If they are, it would be disastrous for all of the force. Although, it's more or less so the higher ups can save face when the press interrogates them. And so Tarrlok can deny their involvement."

"Are they safe?" he asked with a hint of concern.

"We picked up everyone we could find in that warehouse, but there was a equalist squad there. They bugged out once we got there though. They're fine." He wasn't exactly lying, but he never knew a place in the city that was completely safe and secure.

"Alright." His frown lessened a little. "How have you been, old friend?"

"Oh it's been sunshine and rainbows, let me tell you. Working under Saikhan? I can handle that. But having to see that weasel-snake show up his face in the station?"

Tenzin laughed, as did Makei. "I don't envy you Mak."

"I envy you though; you get to put the little runt in his place whenever you can!"

"The perks of leadership I guess." He stopped smiling, and his eyes grew serious. "Honestly, how do you think it will pan out?"

Makei rubbed his head. "I really don't know for certain. All I can hope to do is to keep the men doing their jobs and try to lessen his influence around here. All I can really do from my end."

"You know, you could run against him for the position." He held up his hands as his friend scowled. "I know how you feel about it. But Lin's second in command seems perfect for the challenge."

"Aaah fine. I won't be able to do anything until the delegates have arrived for the summit though."

"Summit?"

"Yeah. There's going to be a diplomatic summit taking place in a couple of months, and our fair city will be playing host."

"Amon will certainly be ready for something big then."

"All we can do is observe unfortunately. Hopefully we'll have the equalists contained by then."

He walked over to his desk, and opened the top drawer, causing a bottle of reddish brown liquor to roll noisily inside it. He grabbed two small glasses from the shelf nearby.

"Want one?" He offered.

"Alright."

They settled into a comfortable silence, with the slight tinkling of glasses and the sound of a liquid being poured into the glasses.

Makei handed one of them to Tenzin, and watched as he cast a critical look at the substance.

"Amberei?" he ventured.

"Only the good stuff." He smirked and downed his in one hit, gasping slightly as the liquid left a trail of fire down his throat, and settled into his stomach, giving him a bloom of warmth.

"Remember how we did this all the time?"

"I remember the time I took the blame for destroying a priceless painting." Tenzin pointed out, wincing as he remembered the devastated look on uncle Sokka when he beheld his destroyed 'masterpiece'.

Makei shrugged. "Your dad was pissed. Off."

Tenzin scowled, than burst into laughter, it was infectious, and Makei was soon laughing as well. He drank his in one gulp, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He sighed, and put the empty glass down on the table.

"How's Pema?" Makei asked.

"Fine, we're actually expecting a fourth baby in the spring."

"You don't stop do you?" Makei teased.

Tenzin reddened, than burst out into a chuckle. "I think I have to go now."

"It was good seeing you Tenzin." His tone became a bit more serious. "I'll send word when Korra and her squad get back to the station."

"I hope she's alright."

"She's the avatar, I'm sure she can take care of herself."

"Hmm. Goodbye, Mak."

Tenzin bowed slightly, and left his friend in his office. He shut the door behind him as he walked out into the hallway, still uncertain about Korra and Tai. He headed back down the stairs, walking past the reception desk and saw Mako and Bolin sitting in some of the waiting chairs.

"It's getting pretty bad out there." Bolin explained.

Tenzin nodded, Mako looked at him. "So where's Korra?"

The older man sighed. "I'm afraid they're forced to make their own way back to the station. Part of procedure, the commander tells me."

The noise of a unique motorcycle engine rumbling was heard, the noise stopped and the doors were flung open by a young man wearing full police armor, and a wolf helm. Rain drops fell rolled down the smooth metal and dropped to the floor, soaking into it.

"Councilman Tenzin?" Boto asked.

Tenzin hid his surprise. "Yes?"

"My name is Lieutenant Boto, Korra and Tai are assigned to my infiltration squad."

"Where are they?"

"I lost sight of them when the Equalists were escaping, Tai ran after one of them, and after Korra finished healing another member of the squad, she went out there to find him." He sighed. "If you've got a quick way to get back there I can show you."

Mako and Bolin stood up, a determined look in their eyes. Tenzin nodded immediately, and lead them outside. Oogi was waiting nearby, taking shelter nearby.

Tenzin climbed to the spot behind his head, taking hold of the reins. The brothers quickly made their way up to the saddle, with Bolin helping Boto up after them.

With a slight grumble Oogi took off, Tenzin kept him at a low altitude, so they wouldn't run into the high winds and elements above them. He weaved the Bison between buildings and over roads, angling for a dimly lit portion of the waterfront.

Boto decided to strike up a conversation to pass the time. "So I've seen some of your games. Man you just knock them dead don't ya?"

Bolin answered him. "Sure do! With Korra on our team, we're unstoppable."

Mako glanced at them both, his arm hanging lazily over the side. "If it starts up again Bolin."

"Hey Boto. Have you known her for long?" Bolin ventured, trying to get a glimpse of the youth's backstory.

"Actually I grew up in the village near the White Lotus compound where she lived. They didn't allow anyone to see or talk to her, so I walked over one day and introduced myself. Master Katara convinced them to take me on as her training partner." He smirked, obviously remembering something from his childhood.

Bolin had a smile on his face, which conspicuously didn't reach his eyes. "Wow, that long? You too must be close." he nodded vigorously, prompting Mako to roll his eyes.

"I left the south pole when I was fourteen, about four years ago. That's the last she saw of me until now. She was pretty pissed off."

The younger teen nodded, and was silent.

Oogi growled, and Tenzin spoke up. "We're here, boys."

They were circling over a warehouse, with traces of water vapor rising up from the smashed in windows on both sides.

"Yeah this it!" Boto shouted to him. Tenzin nodded in response, guiding them to the front of the warehouse, just outside of it's main doors. Oogi landed and Tenzin guided him inside out of the rain. The great beast shook himself dry, forcing his passengers to wait before disembarking. Mako and Bolin slid off first, and immediately ran towards the other side of the warehouse.

Boto walked after them, arms crossed together as he glanced around the wrecked interior. Tenzin walked next to him. They followed Mako and Bolin to the center of the cavernous space, and they all stopped, Mako had a concerned expression on him, but his look was determined. Bolin's look was slightly panicky, and he practically bounced from toe to toe as he looked around himself.

Tenzin spotted the shards of broken glass, that had fallen in front of the side wall. He looked up, and saw a window that was broken from the inside. "Boto. Did you see which window Tai went out of?" The young man glanced at him, and followed his gaze, comprehension dawning.

"During the battle, Rorik and his red monsoons created a fog, we could hardly see three feet in front of us the whole time. But it started to dissipate when Tai saw that guy with the two swords head through the window. It was that one for sure." He pointed to the one that was broken from the inside.

Tenzin nodded and clapped his shoulder. "Thank you, young man. I should be able to detect where he ran off to." he focused on the open window, and swept his arm forwards, creating a stream of brightly colored air that wound its way through the window and to the outside. "Stay put, everyone. I'll be back soon."

"But Tenzin-" Mako and Bolin both started, clearly not okay with staying put. Boto stared up at the constantly-battered windowsill, through which the rain fell freely.

But he shook his head. "I know you all care about her, but you will only slow me down. I need to find them before the trail runs cold."

All three of them fell silent, and nodded. Mako had a angry look in his eyes, while Bolin's held worry.

He ran forwards, leaping towards the window and running through it, disappearing into the elements outside.

The rain continued to bucket down, a succession of raindrops continually drumming against the heavy fabric of his hood. It didn't bother him, he never had much time for other concerns apart from what his master desired. As far as he was concerned, anyone he knew back before the fire was dead to him. The thought of the all-consuming fire kept him rooted to the spot standing on the roofs edge, and for a single, terrible lifetime he was amongst the flames again, surrounded by their burning licks, hounded by the hellish squealing, and blinded by the searing glow of cindered wood.

He shook those thoughts away, and he narrowed his eyes, focusing on the weakling and his protector, no doubt heavily injured from that little fall. He would check if they survived in a moment, for even though he was certain of his own abilities and skills, his little brother always had a certain... unpredictability to him. His long dead mother saw had encouraged it, to the point where she barely had time for him.

A single thought ran through him, and he nodded in time with it's passing. Reminiscing is pointless. He took a few careful steps forwards, his toes now hanging over nothing as he bent forwards a little, peering into the dark depths of the cramped alley below. He was rewarded with two broken bodies, although one of them was still moving, he narrowed his eyes again as he spared a thought of doubt.

The Avatar was very durable.

Without wasting a second he lowered himself over the edge, making use of the heavy leather of his gloves to get a good grip on the slick concrete. He shifted his wrist as the edge of the buildings rain gutter bit into it, he ignored the slight discomfort and pressed down and kept his fingers clenched. He spotted the top level of the fire escape, sitting just below his dangling feet.

A grunt was forced out of him as he landed, his boots absorbing any of the impact associated with dropping six meters. The metal frame of the entire structure rattled and wobble precariously for a few seconds, but he didn't stop as he leant over the railing, seeing that the avatar had somehow managed to stay conscious, even with the little scratch he gave her.

Her face was incredibly pale, and even from there he could see that her entire body was shaking uncontrollably as she clamped a hand over her shoulder. Her pained grunts and gasps meant nothing to his ears as he took his time going down the fire escape, being careful about it in case the flimsy metal decided to break on him. Amon always advised patience and caution.

The fire escape rattled a little louder than usual as he reached the second level closest to the ground, and the girl looked up in alarm, fear taking over her pain-stricken features as he heard her breathing get louder and quicker. She was afraid of him. Good, that would benefit.

He tilted his head when he saw that she had picked up a bit of speed, and was getting worryingly close to the rain-swept street nearby, he carefully gripped the railing and swung himself over, dropping to the floor of the alley a few meters below with barely a grunt of effort. He strode forwards, his eyes single-mindedly focused on the slowly moving water tribe girl, her desperate gasps and breaths echoing down the alleys walls, he stopped as she slipped and stumbled on a deepening puddle of water collecting near underneath a dripping pipe, pausing for a moment as a single choked cry came from her as she twisted and slammed into the wall nearby, her cry was sharp and pain-filled, and was enough to reach into the boy laying near Tarrin's feet, and pull him back from unconsciousness for a few fleeting moments.

What resembled breaths rather than words came out of him, and his fingers scrabbled as he fixed his gaze on the weapon lying in the wet nearby. Tarrin looked down at the pathetic sight, and without any thought of mercy or hesitation, unleashed a swift kick into his stomach. The boy doubled up with a painful scream, and was unconscious once more.

Nodding once, he stepped over his little brother, eyes straight ahead as he picked up the pace a bit, her pained sobs and little gasps of breath reached his ears again, louder as he came to a stop near her. She had curled up into a ball, and was staring at the wall and dumpster, shaking noticeably as the red patch on her shoulder continued to grow and gush.

His hand shot down, wrapping around her neck and bringing the choking girl up to his eye-level. He tilted his head, seeing how all the fight had been drained out of her so quickly by one little 'toy'. He slammed her into the wall, and kept her there as he reached hand to one of his sabres.

Drawing it out with one hand was simple for him, yet it still took a long time as he wrestled it away from the straps keeping it to his back. The slow grind of the blade on the leather had a effect on the girl, whose eyes widened even further as she struggled weakly. The blade held out to his side, his thumb found a button on the side of the handle. He kept the weapon steady as the sides of the blade began to fold inwards in sections, rolling around a central rod and sliding into the depths of the contraption. The shortened blade was now as long as his forearm, and it would serve nicely in the tight quarters, allowing him to swing with impunity. The inventor had outdone himself this time.

"You. Are a plague on the world." he stated, no inflection or tone in his voice whatsoever. The girl didn't, couldn't, respond as her struggling began to die down, and her breaths became shallower and less there. He angled the blade tip towards her belly and swung his arm back, without a moments thought he swung it forwards, aiming for a point between her ribs that allowed easy access to the heart-

Roaring wind drowned out the rain and the storm above, and he turned, seeing a ball of rapidly spinning air bearing towards him. Reflexively his eyes widened for an instant, and the shock dissolved his grip on the sabre, sending it clattering to the wet concrete as he beheld the face of a wrathful airbender behind the turbulent sphere. But his training quickly took over, and his expression was calm as he sidestepped around the little ball of air and it's source, twisting back before swinging his leg into the boy's stomach.

His little brother's eyes boggled, and a line of blood forced itself from his lips as the sphere dissolved and he twisted to the ground, shaking and wracked with pain. Tarrin took a step forward, picking up his sabre and depressing the button on the handle, making the blade spring back to it's full length as he held it above the boy, and drove the tip downwards.

Heat tickled his ears as it forced its way into the hood, and something inside him screamed in fear as a wall of fire sprang up, completely blocking out his view of the rainy street, instinct took over, and he broke into a run into the depths of the alley, only to be stopped by another wall of fire springing up in front of him. He backed away a few steps, feeling a strange feeling he had never thought he would feel again. Fear.

A flame-wreathed hand broke out of the wall behind him, and he beheld two golden eyes like that of a spirits, boring into his very soul with the intensity of a inferno. They were joined by a shock of silver hair, and the human features of an old man in simple red robes skidded to a halt in front of the two near-dead teens, shielding them as he flung both hands forwards in clenched fists. A blast of intense golden fire erupted towards the stunned young man, and caught him on the full in the chest. He was sent rocketing backwards, feeling his entire body was set aflame as he passed through the flame wall and hit the slick concrete hard, sliding along it's length towards the other side of the alley.

The old man stood there for a few seconds, his intensely colored eyes focused on the depths of the alley as he lowered the walls of fire, the steam hugged the ground at his feet as he nodded, confirming that their attacker had run off. He glanced down at his feet, and saw that the boy had placed himself in front of the girl during the display, no doubt trying to shield her from the flames. The old man suppressed a chuckle as he bent down to pick the two of them up, grunting a little as his back protested extremely loudly and graphically, in the language of creaking bones and muscle aches.

He ignored that. The Avatar was worth a sore back.

* * *

Tai slowly opened his eyes, and as he regained consciousness the intense pain suddenly rushed back, flooding his head and making him groan. It went away in a instant, replaced by a dull throb that was felt throughout his body. He vaguely noticed that the wet sky was brown, and was segmented.

Wait. No.

That was wood.

He was staring at a wooden ceiling, and he wondered where he was. He shuffled experimentally, noting that the bed he lay on was coarse and tough, and wasn't a bed at all, rather it was a couch instead. He nearly fell off it, and stopped moving. Cautiously, he lifted his head, and saw a warmly lit living room, it was small, and in the wall in front of him was a wooden door leading to the outside. He heard slightly muffled noise of the raging wind and rain outside. He craned his head and saw a old man looking at him, with equal parts amusement and concern. He tried not to look at the dull red scar that covered the entire left side of his face, feeling that it would shame his host.

"Don't worry, just a old scar."

He nodded cautiously, noticing how it seemed to almost form a flame like shape with the old man's left eye forming the core. He gasped as he moved his left arm, and looked down, seeing that it was held in a sling, and resting on his chest. He was still wearing his coat, but his grey shirt was missing, and all that covered his chest was a white bandage wound around his stomach. He touched it gingerly, wincing a little as pain flared up instantly. His sword was in its scabbard, and was resting against the arm of his makeshift bed.

"Thank you. Uh." he was at a disadvantage, not knowing who the old man was. "Sir." he quickly finished.

"No need, you were in pretty bad shape." he chuckled pleasantly, and Tai found himself wearing a weary smile.

He suddenly remembered who fell with him. "Where's Korra!"

The old man watched the boy look around the room in alarm, before leaning forward and point upwards with a single finger. "It's okay. She's fine. Luckily your bandaging managed to stop the bleeding, some shoddy work though."

He tipped his head back, resting it on the arm of the couch, sighing with relief, than guilt. "It's all my fault."

"There's no point to that. What has happened, has happened." The old man smiled, a memory of someone important to him saying almost those exact words. The memory also brought back a sad, and old, feeling.

"Yeah. My name is Tai."

"Zuko." The old man barely contained a chuckle as the boy's eyes widened in recognition of the famous name.

"Zuk-" realization dawned in his mind. As best he could, he inclined his head downwards. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any-"

"Trouble? Saving you and the Avatar was my idea, young man."

"Right. Sorry." The boy mumbled, keeping his eyes glued to the floor.

"Don't be. When I was your age, I was just as stupid."

He laughed weakly. "Heh, uh, thank you. I think."

"So what happened, and please, the truth." Zuko pressed gently, with a hint of firmness. The boy loosed a shuddering sigh as he lifted himself into a upright position, keeping a hand to his stomach and his arm pressed close.

Tai swallowed painfully. "We were at a warehouse, breaking up a triad meet up. The equalists showed and I chased after one of them, alone. She followed me, and..." He remembered. She saved him. And then he remembered something else. He saved them.

Zuko nodded. "I admit, even I wasn't that stupid."

"This how you treat every patient?" the boy rubbed the back of his neck as Zuko shook his head.

"Just the idiots." He went to get up, but not before the boy managed to summon the energy to raise his voice.

"Sir- wait."

Zuko turned around with a questioning glance. "Yes, young man?"

"We were with our squad at the warehouse. They may still be there."

He nodded. "I'll head over there soon."

Suddenly Tai's vision dimmed, and exhaustion rushed into his body.

Zuko's voice was a mere whisper now as he drifted back into sleep. "I'll check on Korra then I'll-"

Tenzin frowned as he squatted, rubbing his beard in worry as he stared at a puddle of water, it's surface constantly being disturbed by the heavy raindrops that still blanketed the city. He felt a growing apprehension in his stomach as he noticed the dirty red cloud that slowly expanded through the puddle. He didn't need to confirm it twice, he was looking at blood.

He looked up, watching the young waterbender's eyes fill with worry similar to his, as he stripped a glove off of one hand, and dipped a finger into the turgid puddle. The airbender's eyebrow arched for a instant as he watched his face screw up in concentration for a brief second. The puddle below shook a little, and Tenzin was sure the cloud of blood had moved as well.

But there was time for a nagging feeling later on as Boto looked at him. "Korra's badly hurt." his voice was low enough so that only Tenzin could hear him, and so that he wouldn't alarm the brothers standing nearby.

Tenzin nodded. "Did she leave a-" he practically had to force the next word out. "Trail?"

Boto shook his head slowly, and pointed towards the edge of the roof a few metres away. "It only goes that far, my guess is they both fell into the alley below." The young man stood up and left to examine where he had pointed at as Mako and Bolin moved towards him.

"Anything?" The firebender's tone was harsh and quick, which was to be expected considering the current situation. Tenzin straightened and brushed himself off, fixing on the dangerous gleam in the boy's eye. He was worried indeed

He thought about telling him for a moment, before instead settling for a nod and beckoning for the two of them to follow him. He strode over to the edge of the roof standing next to Boto and peering into the alleyway below. "They may have escaped through this alley, boys."

"Then she's okay?" The firebender's younger brother asked cautiously, poking the tips of his index fingers together in a obvious display of nervousness. Tenzin was speechless for a moment, searching for the right words to say, before he once again settled for a curt nod. That seemed to do the trick as Bolin's face lit up briefly, in stark contrast to Mako's cold gaze as he stared wordlessly at the alley below.

"Tenzin. Look." He glanced at Boto, who pointed towards the threshold between the alley and street, where someone in a vaguely red-colored coat walked towards the bottom of their building, his face obscured by a heavy hood. The unknown man seemed to have recognized him however, when he waved. It was then that Tenzin saw those unmistakable yellow eyes, framed by weathered features.

"Everyone, off the roof, I believe we may have found them." Mako gave him a questioning look as his little brother's face lit up again, while Boto merely nodded, making a move for the fire escape nearby. Tenzin stopped him with a firm grip on the shoulder, spinning his other hand to get a gust going. Without warning, he stepped off of the roof's edge, and floated through the wet weather until his feet touched lightly on the ground in front of the hooded figure.

He waited a few seconds for the unmistakable sound of grinding earth, signalling that Bolin and Mako had followed them down. Tenzin stepped forward, stopping in front of the hooded figure, the top of whose head only reached to Tenzin's nose. He placed the palms of his hands together, and bowed deeply and respectfully, straightening as a old man chuckle came from the depths of the hood. "It's good to see you, Zuko."

Behind his shoulder, Mako and Bolin exchanged disbelieving glances, with Bolin bowing nervously as his brother folded his arms together in a stand-offish way. The old man reached up to hem of his hood and threw the fabric back, revealing a pale-skinned and weathered face, gaunt in the cheeks but still retained some of his younger handsomeness. The flameshaped scar over his left eye stood out strongly, serving to give him a very ferocious appearance that belied the kind-hearted man underneath.

For his part, Zuko stepped forward and wrapped Tenzin in a tender embrace, breaking it off after a few seconds as he studied Tenzin's companions. "Time is of the essence, so I believe we can be introduced later on. Also the fact that we're in Agni Kai territory isn't helping things. Follow me."

* * *

"Tai!"

He woke with a start, than hissed as his stomach protested, he was still on the couch, and a bald man was leaning over him. "Master?" he said weakly.

He looked past him, and saw Boto, Bolin, and - inwardly he groaned - Mako, not the firebender he wanted to see. "Where's Zuko?"

"Upstairs with Korra." Tenzin paused, obviously conflicting with something. "What were you thinking!"

Tai lowered his gaze, hearing the disappointment and concern in someone like Tenzin was a lot to take in. "I don't know." he simply said.

He fell silent, and avoided everyone's looks going his way. Confusion and concern from Bolin and Boto, and outright hostility and anger from Mako. Tenzin moved back slightly as Tai sat up slowly, burying his face in his palms. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry!?" Mako shouted, he rushed forward and picked him up by his coat collar, pushing him up against the wall. "Give me one reason, why I shouldn't kill you!" his yellow eyes were burning with rage as they bore directly into Tai. "Look at me! And tell me!" he hissed.

"I don't have one." he murmured.

Bolin put his hand on Mako's shoulder cautiously. "Bro." he lost some of the fire in his eyes as he glanced at his younger brother, he swallowed his pride and nodded, scowling as he released Tai. The boy merely stood there, his head hung low.

"Mako, calm yourself!" Tenzin warned. He turned to Tai. "Was Amon there?" he asked.

He shook his head. "My brother was." he laughed bitterly as the room fell silent, and his eyes grew wet. "My own brother. Tried to kill me."

Everyone was silent. Bolin was staring at him incredulously, Mako watched the ceiling intently, rubbing his chin. And Boto looked away.

Tenzin placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Tai listen-"

Zuko came down the stairs interrupting him. He stepped back and everyone focused on the old man. "She's awake." he stated.

Mako and Bolin immediately moved towards the stairs when he held up a hand to stop them. "She asked to see Tai.", everyone looked at him as he blinked twice. Groaning a bit as he got up from the roughly made couch, he held a hand to his stomach, and limped towards the stairs, nodding at Zuko.

He went up slowly, holding onto the rail with his right hand, taking each step carefully. He was dreading each one that led to that door. He reached it, and hung his head, hesitating for a eternal moment. Finally he summoned the courage to place his hand on the door knob, and he opened it, the room was small, but very warm and comfortable to stand in. It held a single bed, pushed up against the windowsill standing opposite from the doorway he stood in. Currently the bedside table was laden with bandages and all kinds of medicines, all used for the benefit of the girl sitting up in the bed, looking straight at him. He froze, unsure of what to do or say.

"Hey." She said, adding a weary smile after. He felt terrible, especially when he saw the fresh bandages covering her shoulder, and how she held it. Most of her chest was wrapped up as well, with her stomach and sides covered completely. She shifted, and he saw her grit her teeth a bit as the pain obviously got to her. "You okay?" She asked.

"You were stabbed by him." he said without thinking, immediately searching for a way to apologize for his blundering.

She nodded, stopping his panic. "Yeah."

"I'm an idiot." he sighed, dropping onto a wooden chair next to the bed and burying his face in his hands. He didn't want to look her in the eyes. What happened on the rooftop came flooding back to him, filling up his head with nothing but those horrible images. Tarrin. Failure. Korra.

Finally, he looked at her, with a sunken look. "I'm sorry, but you saved me. Why?"

She shrugged, even though it obviously pained her. "Avatar, remember?"

He laughed bitterly. "Why though? That was my mistake, I should have paid for it! You didn't have to do _anything_."

"You're my friend." she stated.

"I-" he looked down at the floor. "Thank you."

"You want to tell me who Tarrin is?" she asked.

He looked at her for a moment, gauging whether he could trust her with it. Without hesitation he came to a decision. Absolutely.

"My big brother. We were each other's best friend, being part of a bender family in a non-bender town does that to you. He couldn't bend, not that it mattered though." Korra's eyes held a infinite amount of questions in them, but he continued on. "The village was called Junoa, and it sat at the base of the Kamang mountain range up north. Kind of cold, but it was okay."

"Who were your parents?" He looked at her, seeing the suffering behind her eyes as she worked to keep upright and awake.

"Mom was a air bender, studied under both Telei and Tenzin." his expression darkened. "You'll have to ask Tenzin about him." he kept going. "Dad was United Forces, retired just before Tarrin was born. We all lived on a farm, and it was perfect."

He sighed, and looked at her. "Hate to disappoint you, but I really don't want to say what happened next, just not ready for it." Korra nodded as he tilted his head in curiosity, latching onto that rather than the dark thoughts that kept coming back. "So that's my family, how about yours?"

"Back down in the South Pole, although I lived in a compound for most of my childhood. Didn't see them much. Or, anyone else apart from teachers." she couldn't help the bitter tone, as flashes of sitting on that big ice wall, watching a group of kids go penguin sledding in the snow outside. Spirits, she wanted to be part of that

"Must have been lonely."

She shook her head, making sure not to dwell on the distant past. "Actually I didn't really notice most of the time, I was focused on learning the bending arts, trying to be the Avatar."

"Except for that time when you met Boto?"

She chuckled. "Yeah, got me there. He made it bearable."

"Don't tell me you're still interested in him?" he teased.

"Uh no! We were best friends, that's all."

"Uh huh."

"What about you and Sensha? I know what you were looking at on the airship. Not the scenery I can tell you that much."

Tai shrugged. "She has beautiful eyes."

Korra scowled as he laughed. "Would it help if I said you do as well?" he said earnestly.

"Next time we spar, I'll show my thanks." she threatened him with bodily harm all the time, so he dismissed it. "You really think so?" she asked cautiously, suddenly very focused on wanting to know what he thought of her.

"Yeah. I do." he said earnestly 

Korra was silent, and he was suddenly getting the impression he was needed downstairs. "Uh, so, get better, and thank you for saving my sorry ass." He reddened, and left the room quickly, leaving the confused girl behind to recuperate.

He sighed. Geez, you were subtle weren't ya?

_Shut up brain._

* * *

潮


	8. Chapter 8

 

潮

* * *

_  
_   


_Air Temple Island._

"Are you concentrating Tai?" They sat next to each other in a traditional air nomad stance, used for meditation and designed to foster peace of mind. The spray from the waters below mingled with the air at their level, providing a cool relieving sensation that calmed one's thoughts. For Tai, that was particularly needed.  
  
He opened one eye, glancing at his master. "Yep."  
  
"You have whipped the leaves behind us into the air."  
  
Tai glanced behind him, noticing how the leaves from the trees on the hill had taken flight and were dancing on the wind. He actually thought it looked kind of cool. He arched an eyebrow at his master, then sighed as he concentrated, willing the air carrying the leaves to let them gracefully float to the ground, Tenzin nodded and closed his eyes once more.  
  
"I don't know why you requested we meditate here." he shifted as his back creaked, preferring the hard floor of the pavillion to the grass.  
  
"Pavilions enclosed, it's not very suitable for meditation. Uh, in my honest opinion." Tai found that this spot on the cliffs and the view it provided calmed him down, and did a lot to keep dark thoughts away. He suspected that Tenzin knew his reasoning.  
  
"Hmm. I prefer the pavilion."  
  
Tai rolled his eyes, behind his closed eyelids so that Tenzin wouldn't see. He breathed in deeply, and resumed focus. After a few minutes of thought-walking and thinking about the previous days, he realized something deep, something profound about the world he lived in.  
  
No matter what, he just could not meditate today.  
  
He sighed. And then gasped, as one of his ribs started to flare up again. He was still sore from what happened two days ago.  
  
"How are your wounds?"  
  
"Better, Korra's healing is helping a lot. And Zuko is really handy with his bandages."  
  
"Considering the organization he is trying to bring down, I can see why." Tenzin opened one eye as his mouth lifted in a smirk. "You get healed by her quite a bit."  
  
"Have you seen what I do Master?" The boy's rebuttal presented.  
  
"Yes. Stop it."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
Tenzin sighed. "I can't get focused."  
  
"You too? Not to do with Korra's friends is it?" Tai said with total and complete innocence, not trying to egg him on at all. He felt daggers being glared at him.  
  
The intensity of his dark gaze lowered after a few seconds as Tenzin nodded. "I'm fine with them staying on the island, they've all been a great help."  
  
"The Equalists?" Tai tried again, shifting a little as a breeze of wind rustled his hair around.  
  
"Tarrlok." Tenzin said with a heavy sigh, his features already darkening at the thought of that lunatic.  
  
Tai looked down at the ground between his feet, a bit ashamed about how easily he had accepted that offer. "I hate him."  
  
"You jumped at the chance to be on his task force." Tenzin noted, watching a pair of Bison glide ponderously above the open sea beyond the cliffs.  
  
"That was a mistake, as long I stick with Boto and Sensha, I should be fine." He said quickly, studiously keeping his eyes from looking back up, making sure they were still fixed on examining the fresh soil under the blades of grass.  
  
He thought about something Korra had told him earlier in the day, something that had her a little worried. "I haven't seen Korra make any progress on her airbending."  
  
"Yes. As soon as we returned from Police Headquarters she ran off." His master responded calmly, absent-mindedly picking a blade of grass from the ground and holding it up in the air.  
  
"You aren't concerned?" Tai eyed him, genuinely confused as he turned towards Tenzin.  
  
"Of course I'm concerned. But all I could say to her was that she needs to find the meaning of her visions."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Speaking of which, how have yours been?" Tenzin looked at him with a bit of concern.  
  
"Nothing so bad as the first time. I haven't really had the chance to fully mediate until now." On a whim he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the cool air carried by the wind, and placed his palms against one another as he concentrated on his focus. He let off an explosive sigh. "And it isn't working."  
  
"Never mind." Tenzin stood up and brushed himself off. "We'll end the lesson here."  
  
Tai nodded, standing up next to him as he stretched to shake off the afternoon sluggishness. "So what next?"  
  
"I think some sparring will do." he grinned evilly, and aimed his palm at Tai's chest, he heard the boy sigh. The blast of air sent him rolling down the path. He pushed himself into the air with a pulse, and he landed on his feet, and was running down the hill towards the waiting stalks of the bamboo forest. He ran as fast as he could, not caring for the pain beginning to bloom near his stomach, he hugged the edge of the bamboo forest. As he saw Tenzin fly effortlessly towards him, he quickly dived into the bamboo branches.  
  
A tiny branch with a single leaf whacked him across the cheek, making him sputter as he got the taste of it. He threw his hand out, creating a slicing crescent of air that bisected the swathe of stalks in front of him, giving him a wider space to move in. He glanced behind him, and saw Tenzin dive into the forest behind him, using circular movements and subtle wind manipulation to get past the bamboo.  
  
He swept a arc of fire backwards, trying to deter the air bender from a frontal attack. He was rewarded when Tenzin swerved to the side, disappearing behind a curtain of stalks. The boy didn't waste any time as he hopped onto the bisected stalk in front of him, dancing across them to get to the other side. He dove into the thick once more, and after a minute or so, broke out of the sturdy foliage, finding himself in the circular training area. He quickly ran towards the raised dais, only for the gates to spin furiously in front of him.  
  
A bald head revealed itself, as Tenzin dove towards him using a stream of air. He pushed at the ground nearby, and the wind carried him to the left, barely dodging the quick attack. Tenzin stopped instantly, and used a spout of air to rise up above the boy. Tai acted quickly, he ran towards the spout, dragging his arms behind himself. As Tenzin spun his arms above himself to create a funnel of wind, Tai sprang his move and threw his arms forwards, both of them touching the other, and a massive stream of wind drilled through the spout, it spun in the opposite direction, causing the spinning mass of air to lose cohesion.  
  
It broke up, throwing Tenzin towards the ground at bone-breaking speed. Showing why he was a master he waited just before impact and threw his hand out, creating a cushion of air. He practically bounced off of it, landing with knees slightly bent as he dusted himself off.  
  
"Hmm." he said, impressed.  
  
Tai was out of breath and feeling very sore. He swallowed painfully as he stood up straight, giving Tenzin a weary smile, who returned it with a smirk. "Since you are about to collapse, we'll leave it there for today."  
  
Taking that as a challenge, he immediately stood straighter, squaring his shoulders up. Tenzin walked towards him, amusement on his face. "Don't strain yourself."  
  
The boy nodded wearily, almost stumbling as he did so. Tenzin put a supporting hand on his shoulder and they walked out of the training circle, heading down the stone steps towards the central grounds of the island. Once they were in front of the massive steps leading up to it, Tenzin nodded at Tai. "Tomorrow. 8:00 am."  
  
"Always something to learn isn't there?" Tai tried to grumble, getting a chuckle from his master.  
  
"Take it easy Tai, wouldn't want to carry you back in a stretcher."  
  
"Ha."  
  
He bid Tenzin goodbye, and kept going on the path, leaving Tenzin to disappear into the main building. The wind picked up, ruffling his hair as he strolled down the path. Well it was close to a stroll, his ankle was still sore from falling off the apartment building, it would have been even worse off if Korra hadn't healed it for him. Next he saw her, he would definitely thank her.  
  
Lemurs chirped and chittered in the fruit trees nearby, a few of them darting into view every so often to scratch at the stem of one of the cream colored orbs. He snuck one once, and promptly fell in love with it. He was always tempted to pick one from that tree, but kept himself from doing it whenever he could.  
  
He stopped for a moment, now hopeless trapped on the thought of the delicious fruit. He shrugged and walked towards the tree, standing underneath it's boughs as he looked for a way up to the branch above him. He noticed a few pairs of green eyes were narrowed as they watched him, and he didn't care. They're just Lemurs.  
  
He saw a small knurl that jutted out from the thick trunk, he reached for it and pulled himself up into the branches of the tree. The rough bark came away at a few points, peeling off, and flaking away under his hands. A few splinters found their way into his skin, but he didn't care, only having eyes for the two orbs of pure white goodness hanging five meters away from him.  
  
He wrapped his right hand around the branch holding them, immediately causing a rush of chittering green eyes to pounce onto him. They scratched and pulled at his hair, and he yelped in surprise. A few of the Lemurs even dropped down onto his shoulder, their long ears trailing behind them as they launched a blitzkrieg on the hand that held on to the tree limb. With surprising strength, they began to pry his fingers from their positions, causing his eyes to water as they started biting and scratching to get the point across.  
  
Suddenly a white phantom descended from the upper boughs, green eyes blazing furiously as it took out the other Lemurs one by one. Some got the message and disappeared into the leaves, vowing revenge in their language. The last one was too late, and the white phantom picked it up and held it high, before throwing it out of the tree's depths. It screeched and unfolded it's wings, floating safely to the ground, shaking it's fist as it did so.  
  
The phantom turned around, looking at him with bright green eyes. It sniffed him and nudged his nose, further confusing Tai. Suddenly it dawned on him.  
  
"Little guy!" he exclaimed. With his free hand, he scratched the Lemur under the chin in thanks. He pulled away and grabbed the two fruits, and dropped to the ground below. The little creature followed him down, and landed on his shoulder, looking at him as he pointed towards one of the delicious orbs. He chuckled and broke off a piece, revealing the golden innards within. The creature accepted it and wolfed it down in one mouthful, chittering with satisfaction. It stayed on his shoulder, as he walked away from the tree, towards the cliffs overlooking the dock.  
  
He walked towards the very beautifully carved and painted rail, leaning on it as he chewed on the ball of heavenly delight. As he savored the sweet and juicy fruit, he thought about a name for it.  
  
"I think... Popa, would be a good name." he wondered out aloud, he glanced at the Lemur curled up on his shoulder. "Good name, little guy?" he asked. To his surprise the creature nodded vigorously, chattering in response. He couldn't possibly know what he was talking about, so he sighed contentedly, and returned to watching the bay sparkle brilliantly, as the afternoon sun lowered a fraction towards the horizon, subtly changing the amount of light it threw on the city and bay below it.  
  
Time passed by, and he wasn't sure how long he'd been there for, he guessed around two hours or so. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized he missed dinner, and shrugged in response. His brain disapproved and kept giving him images of soup and bread. Those were dispelled when he heard a choking sob carry across from behind a rocky face nearby. He dropped another piece of the fruit to his little friend and walked over curiously, already harboring an idea about who was there.  
  
He poked his head around the wall of stone and his face fell. Korra had her knees drawn up against her chest, and her face was hidden from view. Pabu poked his head up from his place on her shoulder, and tilted his head at Tai as he approached. He hopped down to greet him, and quickly approached something approaching a weak scowl when he saw the Lemur perched on his shoulder.  
  
The Ferret screeched and stood his fur on end, doing everything a Ferret could do to appear larger to a foe, were that possible. The Lemur leapt down with a screech, and sat in front of Pabu. He eyed him for a moment before slapping him with a tiny paw. The furry creature shook his head and than tilted it quizzically, before sniffing the Lemur. He screeched approvingly and they both ran into the bushes, passing under the boy currently holding a arched eyebrow. He glanced at Korra and walked up to her, watching the waters quietly, waiting until she was ready.  
  
Finally the sniffs stopped, and she glanced up at him. "You must think I'm a failure."  
  
He sat down next to her, offering her one of the white fruit. Slowly, she accepted it, holding it loosely in her hands as she sighed despondently. "Why would I be thinking that?" he said, genuinely confused. He smiled reassuringly at her, his face falling when he saw her focusing on the ground instead.  
  
"I can't produce so much as a wisp of air." she muttered, half-heartedly opening her hand and clenching slightly, as if the small movement would affect the air around it.  
  
"What happened?" he asked. Tenzin said that Korra went with him to the station, but beyond that he had no clue what was going on.  
  
"Oh nothing. Just realizing that I'm a half-baked Avatar." She looked at the ground between her legs and sniffed, sighing as she focused on the waves crashing below.  
  
"Who said that?" his expression darkened as he watched her shoulders sag, making a small part of him angry at whoever was responsible.  
  
"Tarrlok." Her voice was small, and he noticed her lip tremble slightly as she said that weasel-snake's name.  
  
He couldn't believe his ears, or believe the fact that she was like this because of him. "Are you serious?"  
  
She blinked away a few tears, wiping them away as she glanced at him. "Wha-what?"  
  
"You really think that weasel-snake has any idea of who you are?"  
  
"He's right isn't he? I can't do air bending at all, and I can't even get the spiritual parts of being the Avatar right." she bowed her head, the tears starting to flow again. "I'm just a failure."  
  
"Stop it." He turned to her, a determined look in his eyes. "You're brave, and you're smart." He noticed the tears had stopped flowing, but he continued on anyway, ignoring the growing urge to shut his mouth. "You're strong, you never back down." suddenly he reddened. "And you save idiots like me because you can." She was looking straight at him now, her attention completely on him. He didn't want to disappoint. "So don't ever, for one second, doubt yourself. You are the Avatar, and you'll get there."  
  
She chuckled, sniffing as she did so. "You're great with pep talks you know that?" He simply smiled in return, glad that she was getting out of the slump. He was disappointed when she fell silent though, and her sides were still heaving with every sob.  
  
"Want to try the popa?" he asked suddenly.  
  
She blinked in confusion, than looked down at the white fruit perched on her palm, as if realizing she was holding it. "Popa?"  
  
"They're the fruit I found on the tree near the stairs, they taste awesome." his eyes twinkling at the mere thought of them.  
  
"Um. Alright." she nodded weakly, before taking a small bite out of it. She nodded appreciatively, and seemed to calm down a bit. "You know, they are pretty good." she offered him a weak smile.  
  
"Feeling better?" he ventured.  
  
"Actually, yeah."  
  
"Food therapy. Works every time." He fell silent for a moment, thinking of something. "You know, offer is still up."  
  
"Offer?"  
  
"Yeah. Remember? I can help you brush up on airbending techniques when Tenzin isn't training us." He didn't voice the fact that she would most likely floor him instantly with her airbending, not wanting to get her head any more bigger than it was.  
  
"Oh yeah." She tilted her head, glad to focus on something other than criticism. "Didn't I offer fire bending help as well?"  
  
"Definitely. I'm not letting you off."  
  
"Sure. Thanks Tai." before he could react, she leant over and gave him a peck on the cheek. He sputtered and blushed, not expecting that. He quickly glanced at her, but she was looking out at the sea again. "Can I be alone now?" she said in a small voice.   
  
"Uh-yeah." he nodded and quickly stood up, walking back around the rock face as fast as he could. He thought he heard a giggle following him, than a sigh. He resisted the sudden urge to look behind him, as he walked off. Behind him, the Lemur poked his head out of the bush, waving goodbye to him.  
  
He headed back to the path, and decided to follow a chorus of grunts and pained noises floating to him from the side of the main structure. Bolin was hanging off the side of the roof, held up by a tangle of ropes, with a hammer perched painfully on his head. He saw Tai walking towards them with a curious expression, and tried to wave, only serving to entangle him even more. Mako merely plucked another blue plate from the stack next to him, and placed it on a spot on the roof, before hammering a nail through it, finishing with a stream of fire to melt the edges down, strengthening the plate. He barely threw a glance at the approaching boy, focused on his work.  
  
"Hey Tai." Bolin said weakly.  
  
Tai stopped and crossed his arms, arching a eyebrow at his predicament. "How?"  
  
"Oh I was actually aiming for this to happen, it's a good position for my back." He saw Tai roll his eyes, and suddenly blast a gust of wind at him, making the rope swing back and forth. Bolin narrowed his eyes. "Why did you do that?"  
  
Tai shrugged and smirked. He scowled as he flailed his arms, trying and failing to find the loop that would get him free from the entangled rope. But he would then plummet to the ground below. He scratched that thought, and awkwardly placed a hand under his chin as he watched the airbender below. "Sooooo."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What were you doing?" Bolin asked.  
  
"Fighting with Lemurs."  
  
Bolin sighed as that smirk came back. "Airbenders."  
  
"Actually, uh, I was talking. With Korra." For a moment he was getting a peck on the cheek again, and he forgot that both brothers were looking at him with no small amount of suspicion. He noticed Mako glancing down at him, while Bolin seemed to be bursting with curiosity.  
  
Despite being tangled in the mess of ropes, he rolled his hand. "Elaborate?"  
  
He sighed. "Something's up with her. I was trying to cheer her up, and well, I think it worked." The boy wasn't sure if getting something like a peck on the cheek meant some kind of achievement. Or at least, the kind of achievement he was looking for.  
  
"Did she say what was wrong?"  
  
"Something that weasel-snake Tarrlok said to her. Shook her pretty badly." He decided he wouldn't reveal the other part of the conversation. Bolin and Mako looked at one another before nodding. Bolin grinned as he looked back at Tai. "I think it's time we reveal our idea, Mako."  
  
"What?" Tai asked, very confused, and getting a vaguely bad feeling.  
  
Bolin finally freed himself from the tangle, and dropped down in front of Tai, walking past him towards the pier. Mako dropped down onto the staircase, disappearing into the warren of rooms and hallways.  
  
A few minutes later Tai was still standing there, stricken by confusion as Asami and Mako walked down the stairs a few minutes later, heading towards the pier as well.  
  
What?  
  


* * *

_Police Headquarters_

  
The commander sat at his desk, grumbling as he sorted through a massive stack of reports and missives that made the right side of his prized mahogany table groan with its weight. He sighed as he saw yet another report of non bender persecution, or a rejection of a criminal act undertaken by a bender. Even though benders were a minority in most parts of the city, they still held almost absolute power over others, just because they could control water, or shoot flames from their fingertips, or crush anyone they wanted with the ground itself.  
  
No wonder the Equalists are seeming more and more like a good idea.  
  
Makei knew he shouldn't be thinking like that, after all, the very same revolutionaries were creating havoc across the city, and with someone like Amon at their head, he was sure the delegates at the diplomatic summit would be a major target for them. And since Saikhan was now chief, he was going to have a tougher time trying to wrangle extra security from the conservative officer. While he was good friends with him, they both knew that Makei would have been better for the job. Which got him thinking.  
  
What was Tarrlok trying to accomplish?  
  
He sighed and rubbed his forehead, before grabbing another report notice, ready to write his approval when a chorus of voices outside his office alerted him. He arched a eyebrow and stood up, glad for the distraction. He opened the door, and was nearly run over by a line of fully geared metal benders heading for the freight elevator. He spotted a officer with tan colored armor, and a magnificent mustache.  
  
"Sergeant Kralin! What's going on here?" Kranlin ran towards him, and snapped off a salute. "We're being deployed to the Dragon flats, Equalists are massing for an attack!"  
  
"I'll get my gear and meet you down in the garage."  
  
"Yes sir!" He snapped off another salute, and ran past the office, leaving Makei to grab his armor from a locker near his desk. With expert efficiency, he slipped it on, tightening a few straps and testing his cable launchers. Satisfied he headed into the corridor, walking briskly towards the intersection. Just he as was about to head for the freight elevator, he heard a much reviled voice call to him.  
  
"Commander!"  
  
He turned around begrudgingly, keeping a neutral face as he turned to see Tarrlok walking towards him, white teeth gleaming in a shark like smile.  
  
He followed protocol, standing to attention and saluting the higher ranking bureaucrat. "Councilman Tarrlok."  
  
"Where are you headed Commander?"  
  
"Dragon flats, seems the equalists are massing, so my officers tell me."  
  
Tarrlok nodded in agreement, arousing suspicion from Makei. "You aren't needed there, commander, follow me to the lobby."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Saikhan wants to discuss something with you."  
  
He narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge Tarrlok's motivations. Abruptly the politician turned and headed down the stairway, trying a child's tactic by making him catch up. He sighed and followed him. He found Tarrlok leaning against the reception desk. Makei saw Saikhan and went to him.  
  
"Chief, something you need to discuss?", Saikhan blinked twice, obviously confused.  
  
"Uh no, Makei."  
  
He ground his teeth and turned towards Tarrlok. "What's you-"  
  
Tarrlok interrupted him, and talked to the receptionist. "Miss. Can you please turn the radio up for a moment?" The bubbly receptionist nodded, turning around to turn the dial, increasing the volume of the female reporter speaking.  
  
"The Dragon flats, one of our city's largest residential districts, has become the site of a massive riot as non benders take to the streets to voice their concerns about the new curfew passed into law this morning by our fair council. Authorities have taken extreme measures, and armored trucks, metal bending officers, and barricades have been deployed to the site. Wait who's that-" Muttering and a few cheers could be heard among the crowd's angry shouting. "It's Avatar Korra! The Avatar herself has arrived at the scene, presumably to defuse the tense standoff. This is Selisa from Sing Newspapers."  
  
The young woman's voice was cut off by moody blues tunes, Makei was glaring at Tarrlok now. Meanwhile the politician was shaking with barely concealed rage.  
  
"Councilman. What's the meaning of this?"  
  
The slimy official seemed to regain some composure. "As your officers said, Equalist elements are massing."  
  
"Those aren't Equalists, they're just people!"  
  
Saikhan was confused. "Sir, what are you trying to accomplish?"  
  
Tarrlok looked at him. "I'm needed at the site, Chief, the city must know that it's leaders are listening."  
  
"Deploying Metal Benders to round up a crowd of unarmed civilians. Are you mad!"  
  
"I think I need to get down there. Chief. Commander." he left through the front doors, before Makei had a chance to grab the little bastard. Two police officers saw the whole thing, and walked up to Makei, saluting him and Saikhan.  
  
"Sir. We need to be down there, to survey and report."  
  
Makei glanced at them, getting the message. "Request granted. Nisha, Hei? Stay sharp."  
  
They both nodded, and walked off after Tarrlok.  
  
The commander sighed. And Saikhan pinched his nose in frustration. "Ah crap." he said.  
  


* * *

_Air Acolyte Dock, Republic City._

  
Tai stuck both hands in his pockets, leaning forwards and marvelling at the absolutely beautiful perfection sitting in front of him. His jaw hung in amazement as he beheld her amazing curves, the way her body seemed to be built for speed and endurance, while at the same time still accentuating those qualities that everyone needed in someone like her.  
  
She looked like she could take it and keep on coming, as if nothing in the world could stop her. Her skin was absolutely divine to the touch, and it was almost a crime not to caress it.  
  
"Love the ride." He breathed, kneeling down to caress the polished-to-perfection bonnet, running his hand over the absolutely smooth jet black finish.  
  
Asami squatted next to him, chuckling the whole time. "I see you have a taste for art as well?"  
  
"Whatever you do, please for the love of Agni, don't hurt her. I'm looking at you, Korra." Tai threw a smoldering look at her as she leant on one of the side doors, obviously not caring for the perfection she was ruining.  
  
She poked her tongue out at him as she rolled her eyes. "It's a car." she snorted derisively as a pained look settled in Tai's eyes.  
  
Bolin glanced at her with a hurt look. "Korra. This is not just a car. This is a gift from the spirits." he said in awe, echoing the airbender's sentiments. He would protect this thing with his life if he must.  
  
"Bro. I think, you're getting attached. It is just a car." Mako arched an eyebrow as Bolin's jaw hung open in shock at his words.  
  
Korra patted him on the shoulder as she moved past, getting a serious look as she stood in front of Tai. "You're certain you don't want to help?"  
  
"Oh, the temptation calls, but..." Images of the beautiful machine vanished, replaced by a grim white mask and his followers. "I can't. I have a feeling I'd never go back." As he said this, he felt a strange knot of apprehension growing in his stomach. "Be careful, okay? I have a feeling that equalists won't be the only thing out there."  
  
As expected she arched her eyebrow, but nonetheless she nodded, smiling as she placed her hands together. "The Avatar, promises." A single pure note rang in Tai's ears as Mako beeped the horn, which sounded grating to her. She looked back at them, and back at him. She punched him in the shoulder. "Well. See ya."  
  
He nodded as she climbed into one of the back seats, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Bolin as Asami's hands expertly guided the car past the airbender, her eyes still vivid behind the thick green driving goggles. She saluted him, and he waved in return as the assembled team of teens drove off into the early night, leaving him standing alone in front of a empty garage.  
  


* * *

_Air Temple Island_

  
"Damn it!"  
  
Tenzin flung the doors open, prompting Tai to raise a questioning eyebrow as his master approached him. He stood next to him, leaning on the balcony rail as well. Tai was curious to see what was wrong, but thought it best not to irritate a master of air bending while three stories above the ground.  
  
Still he decided to take the plunge. "What's wrong, Master?"  
  
He sighed in exasperation, wiping his face with his hand. "Mako, Asami, and Bolin have been jailed."  
  
Tai looked at him. "Wait, what?", not believing his ears as alarm settled on his face.  
  
"Non-benders are rioting due to Tarrlok's curfew law, they went down there so Korra could defuse the situation. Than Tarrlok threw them in jail, and now in the morning I have to go to him to secure their release!"  
  
"What did I miss?" Tai said in amazement, at a loss determining if his bad feeling was correct or not.  
  
Tenzin turned to his student, trying to ward off the inevitable. "Oh no. Do not even think about it Tai!"  
  
"Think about what? I was just going to go talk to her." he said innocently, genuinely concerned about what Korra would be like because of this.  
  
Tenzin gave him a withering look, and went back inside. "No boys in the women's dormitory."  
  
"That's a rule?"  
  
Tenzin rolled his eyes as he left Tai on the balcony, closing the sliding door behind him. He whistled for a few moments, checking if his master was still around. Satisfied he leapt off of the balcony, and was hanging from the rail with one hand. He dropped to the ground below, using a gust of wind to slow his descent. He had a vague idea of where Korra's room would be, so he headed around the western side of the building, the one facing the waterfront of the city, and Aang's statue. A ring of trees encircled the base of the small plateau the building stood on. He used them to get to his destination faster, ducking and weaving through branches, and getting there in no time at all.  
  
He halted as the treeline ceased, in front of a wide open space, overshadowed by a a raised portion of the artificial plateau, on top of that was a large rectangular building, the women's dormitory. He stood there for a few seconds, trying to think up a way to climb the smooth rock face. As he thought out a plan, he noticed one of the windows fling open, seeing two brown arms holding onto the shutters briefly, before disappearing inside. He suddenly had it, and ran back to the training dorms.  
  
A few minutes later he returned, floating on the eddies and wind currents of the sky. He guided the glider upwards, hugging the smooth angled face. He planted his feet on it, and used air bending to get him up the cliff. Soon enough he touched flat ground, and folded the glider up into a staff, placing it next to his sword sheath and using a bit of string to tie them together. He looked around briefly, watching for anyone looking his way.  
  
He raised his arms skyward, summoning a cushion of air underneath him that propelled him high up, almost reaching Korra's window. He began to fall, and quickly lunged for one of the open shutters, the sturdy craftsmanship worked for him, and held his weight easily. Unfortunately his weight made it swing back and forth, noisily battering the wooden frame of the window. He winced as he waited for her to notice him, only to adopt a confused expression when nothing happened.  
  
Curiosity took the best of him, and he hefted himself up, so that he could see into the room. No punches landed on his face, no blast of fire, not even a small sliver of earth. In fact, no one was there.  
  
Dropping back down to the ground, he got to thinking. Tenzin said he was going to talk to Tarrlok in the morning, negotiating the brothers and Asami's release. He smacked himself, and put two and two together. Korra was heading there herself to force the weasel-snake into it.  
  
Suddenly he had a very cold chill run up his spine, and a cloud of dread hung over him. He looked towards the sparkling city, and concern grew. He took the glider in both hands, and unfolded it with a flick. He ran towards the straight edge of the cliff, and with a kick, he was in the air, and was gliding towards the city. The island rolled beneath him, and he glanced a number of green eyes watching him from the depths of some of the trees, he kept going, and soon enough, the dark inky expanse of the bay's waters replaced the greenery. It felt like four hours had passed when he finally reached the city's waterfront, passing over the roofs of numerous warehouses, apartment complexes, and shops. He noticed a few of the roads to his left were cleaner and well maintained, so he took a gamble, reasoning the prettier roads would lead to the city hall.  
  
He was rewarded with the maze of buildings giving way to a wide open space, holding beautifully cultivated plants and shrubberies, and very immaculately kept ponds of clear water, which sparkled with the light pollution given off from the massive ornate building that presided over the spectacular display. The massive blue dome loomed in front of him, and he rose over it, nearly touching the slippery surface before it dropped away, showing a empty highway at the back of the building. He flew over to a corner of the roof that overlooked the western edge and the highway, and folded the glider back into a staff. He dropped down to the balcony below, and manipulated the air inside one of the locked windows nearby, causing the latch to spring open, giving him access into the third floor hallway. He looked to his right, seeing the corridor turn at a ninety degree angle, he saw that the other side did exactly the same thing, which gave him a rough idea of the building's layout. Of course, he didn't actually know what rooms were where, but he did have a good guess that the meeting hall would be in the center of the building.  
  
He nodded to himself and ran to the heavy double doors nearby, pulling them open as quietly as he could. He quickly pulled back, hiding himself behind the door as he saw a thin, man with a black cap walk around the main corridor's corner, heading straight towards him. He held his breath, not trusting his breathing to be quiet. He waited, and was beginning to feel light headed when he opened one of the single doors in front of him, disappearing inside and closing it behind him. He heaved a sigh of relief and ran through the short hallway, noticing how dark the room was becoming. He ignored it, and found a pillar to take cover behind as he approached the balcony that ran both sides of the main hall.  
  
He saw some of it had been ripped up and broken, and he looked down to see Korra standing in the center of a massive crater of broken floor tiles, breathing hard and sporting a few scars on her cheeks and arms, as she walked menacingly towards the target of her wrath. Councilman Tarrlok. His body language screamed fear and terror as he backed away from the advancing Avatar. Both of her hands were now wreathed in fire, and she yelled as she charged towards the councilman, suddenly the flames dissipated, and she cried out as the sleazy politician threw his arms out at her.  
  
Horrifyingly, he saw her forearms wrench back suddenly, causing her to gasp in pain. She was forced to her knees, and he saw Tarrlok stand up as he moved his arms around, almost like a puppeteer would with his marionettes. Her body painfully mirrored his arm movements, and after a few moments of unsettling terror, Tarrlok flung his arms to the left, launching Korra into air, and slamming her into a corner pillar, right in front of Tai's position. He narrowed his eyes, and prepared to drop down when suddenly his brain rebelled against him.  
  
What are you doing! You'll be defeated just like her!  
  
Doesn't matter! I have to do something!  
  
Not now, wait and observe, his brain cautioned.  
  
No!  
  
But try as he might he couldn't will himself to move, realizing just how terrified he was of what was happening down there. With every fiber of his being he tried and tried, but could only watch helplessly as Tarrlok advanced towards Korra. He desperately wished that she would move, or do something, but the councilman picked her up, and walked out of view, heading deeper into the building.  
  
He ground his teeth, hating everything about himself as he did the only thing he could do. A minute later, he acted, running back outside, diving through the open window and unfolding his glider. He took to the air, using it to climb the wind to the roof quickly. The large open space at the back of the building greeted him, and he heard the faint noise of a car engine nearby. He squinted, and saw a square and solid Satomobile driving onto the highway, peeling away from city hall. He growled and gave chase, gliding towards the highway, below him, he could see a lonely pair of headlights piercing the darkness of midnight, and he strove to keep on it. He didn't relent, not taking his eye off of it for a second, gradually, he descended, lower and lower towards the car's roof. Without any regard for himself, he dropped down, taking out his sword and stabbing it into the thin metal, giving him a firm lifeline.  
  
The driver side window was smashed open, and Tarrlok poked his head out, practically growling as he discovered the boy. Tai quickly hid from his view, rolling across the roof to dangle from the other side. He found himself looking through a barred window, and saw Korra, tied up and gagged on the floor of the van's interior. She was looking around herself desperately, and suddenly stopped when she saw him, making muffled noises of joy through the gag.  
  
He gathered a ball of air in his hand, and pulled his arm back, to blow a hole into the side of the van. Suddenly he lost all control in his arm, the ball dissipated, and his nerves burned like fire as his blood was being manipulated. Tarrlok leant out of the window, a savage smile on his face, as the highway begin to grow thin, and rise higher, with a massive drop now on either side. "I'll be seeing you later Tai!" he threw his arms out, and Tai was wrenched away from the window violently, being pitched off the highway and disappearing into the alleyways below.  
  
As he fell, he heard a muffled shout of terror as the truck picked up speed, pulling onto the highway towards the mountains that surrounded the city. He gritted his teeth as sensation returned to his body, and the fire in his arm flared. Fighting through it, he splayed his hand out, quickly calling for a cushion of air below him, he slammed into it, his fall arrested suddenly and very painfully. He gasped and yelped, and was flung to the slick concrete of the alley floor. His head slumped against the ground, as unconsciousness took him.

* * *

潮


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

_Central Markets, Republic City._   


  
The girl walked quietly, keeping to herself as she joined the early morning rush to the Jing-Nan markets, every so often, her amber eyes glanced to the left and right, checking for any idiots who decided they'd try and be macho. Last time that happened, one had singed eyebrows, the other sporting a sooty black moustache, and the other three sent packing with burn marks all over. She chuckled quietly at the memory, looking up as she entered the market square. All around her, various smells attacked from all directions, launching a siege on the sense as she smelt fresh peaches, smoked fish, the heady scent of foggy swamp nectar, and her most favorite smell of all time…  
  
"Flame-O noodles!" The salesman shouted. "Five packets for ten yuans! Won't get them any cheaper folks!"  
  
Her wallet flashed open and she practically threw a handful of yuans at the mustached fire nation citizen. He pocketed the change with a practiced movement, and she moved past him, grabbing a armful of the red packets of bliss and giving him a smile. He waved goodbye and she continued on, she stopped, and grabbed a brown bag nearby, and tipped the precious cargo into it's papery depths.  
  
She spied several loaves of spiced bread, a delicacy from the Fire Nation homelands. Her mouth practically watered at the mere thought of tearing into the spongy bread and she immediately bought two loaves, placing them in the bag as well. It was at that point she began to buy more...essential...foods. Stuff like butter, or eggs, smoked meats, a few vegetables, and a couple jars of herbs never went astray. She enjoyed walking to the markets every three days. It gave her some time for herself, and let her enjoy the sights and smells of the inner city. Where she lived, she couldn't really experience that, although it was a nice suburb, sometimes she got a bit fed up with it. She was now realizing how petty that was.  
  
Although, apart from university classes and the infiltration squad, this is all the time she really got to herself. Thinking about the squad got her thinking about the newcomer. Boto told her what happened, and she was really pissed off at the idiot. Now? It's kind of died away a bit. Her expression darkened considerably, doesn't mean she won't burn every scrap of hair on him though. Certain that she had gotten everything needed, she left the market square, heading past the tall wrought iron fence that encircled the Shi Tong Library. She chewed on one of the loaves as she walked, taking chance to have breakfast. The fence fell away, replaced by a long line of large shop fronts, baring everything from immaculate jewelery, to the latest in fashion, even replicas of air nomad gliders were on display in a few of the stores.  
  
As she reached the end of the block she turned right, following the pavement as it ran past a small and well maintained parkland, one of many found in the richer districts of the city, which were small, but numerous, and were sprinkled liberally across the poorer districts. She sat down on one of the benches, and relaxed for a bit, quietly enjoying the spectacular view of the sun hitting the glass on the main dome of city hall. She frowned, when she noticed a hole had been blasted in one of it's walls. Water cascaded from it, and from where she was, she could see that the room inside was a light blue, and very spacious.  
  
She stood back up and followed the pavement once more, eventually it ran in front of a cluster of buildings that sat in the shadow of the highway, which was practically deserted most of the time, and was usually reserved only for government passage or police transports. As she walked past the second apartment building, she heard a groan, and immediately stopped, and took a few steps back, so that she was now facing into the alleyway in between the buildings.  
  
It would have been the worst place possible for someone to be in trouble. It lay directly under the highway structure, in a fashion that no matter what time it was, it never received a full blast of sunlight. Just beyond the fencing that lay at the back was the train line, providing a almost deafening amount of noise that blanketed any sounds in the little space.  
  
She peered into it, spotting a shape stirring on the ground. Her mind was all for her just leaving it alone and going, but she would never forgive herself if someone needed her help. She advanced into the dark space slowly, cautious of the wriggling mass that now lay ten meters away from her. Suddenly a voice was heard.  
  
"Sensha?"  
  
Her eyes had fully adjusted to the gloom, and saw that Tai was lying on the ground, obviously in pain. She immediately rushed forward, standing over him with a concerned expression. "Tai!"  
  
"Yeah. Had a bit of a fall." he groaned and rolled over, now facing upwards, looking at the sky visible between the looming buildings, his chest moved up and down with each breath and each one was making him wince.  
  
She sighed and held onto her groceries with one hand, using the other to pull him onto his feet. He stumbled into her, causing her to take a few steps back. "Are you okay?"  
  
He sighed and looked up at the highway. "No." he gestured weakly to the pavement. "Uh, can we get out of here?" She nodded and helped him out of there, steering him to the little parkland from before, she lowered him onto the wooden bench, and sat next to him.  
  
She took out a packet of flame-O noodles, and tore it open, breaking the block into two halves, handing one of them to Tai. He accepted gratefully, and groaned in pain as he shifted to take the glider and sword off of his back, laying them next to him. "What happened?"  
  
"Tarrlok." He practically spat out the name, stunning the girl for a few seconds, leaving her as quiet as the parkland around them.  
  
"Wha-Tarrlok?" That surprised her, she glanced at him with a worried look as she closed her purse.  
  
"Yeah, Korra went after him, to get some friends out of jail." She gave him a curious glance. "They didn't do anything wrong." he quickly added.  
  
"What about Korra?" He fell silent, and a grim and unwanted theory came to her as she noticed a strange look in his eyes. "Tai?" her voice softened in tone, as she glanced at him.  
  
"Gone." he whispered, hanging his head. "Tarrlok took her somewhere."  
  
She stood up. "Than let's go."  
  
A frown flashed across her as he didn't budge, still looking at the paved stones in front of the bench. "Why? He's probably left the city by now."  
  
"We'll search City Hall, hopefully we can find some clues or something."  
  
He sighed. "Okay." He took a bite out of the dry noodles, causing the brittle strands to crack and break. "You know, you could have brought a stove first."  
  
She rolled her eyes and dragged him out of the park, walking across the street to a drinks vendor. She asked for two heater cups, paying the man with five bronze yuans. She snatched the noodle block from Tai's mouth, breaking it up before dumping it into the cup. She did the same with hers, and called a small flame into existence underneath his cup, soon enough the water had soaked through the noodles, separating it into individual strands. He took it without a thought, and downed it in one go, not bothering with thoughts of how hot it would be. He just regulated the temperature of it to a suitable level while in his body.  
  
Sensha drank hers a bit more slowly as she held the brown bag out to him. He took it, holding it for her while they walked towards the city hall. As they neared the wide open square before the great structure, he began to limp, grunting every once in a while. "Come on, it's not too far now. Tell me what happened."  
  
He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them. "They were going to form a group that would go around and bring peace to the city, you know, fighting crime, taking down equalists, that sort of thing." despite the horrible events playing in his head, he managed a chuckle. "You know what they called themselves? New Team Avatar. Bolin's idea naturally."  
  
A glint of fangirlish joy arose in her eye, but disappeared as she nodded, urging him to continue. "So, everything went wrong when they went to a rally about the curfew for non-benders, Tarrlok had her friends thrown in jail, and she went to confront him about it." his face fell, and he had a dull look in his eyes again. "He used a strange kind of bending to knock her out. I followed the van as best I could, but than as soon as I got close, he somehow took control of my body. I-I couldn't move at all, felt like a damn puppet."  
  
He looked at her again. "That's how I ended up where you found me." he was staring at the ground again, and she sighed.  
  
"We'll figure something out, Tai." behind her words, her mind worked desperately, figuring out what she and him could do to help the situation. She noticed he was dragging his foot a little, more and more noticeably with each step he took. She looped an arm around him, giving him a reassuring smile. He nodded gratefully as they made their way across the massive open air square, heading towards the double doors that led into the building's main hall. A ferocious roar stopped them, and they looked at each other, they heard it again, coming from one of the side streets that opened onto city hall's flanks.  
  
Curiosity got the better of them, and Tai thought he recognized the sounds from somewhere before. As they rounded the building's corner, they saw that a massive white creature had been backed up against a wall, and was swinging it's huge forepaws at the group of men surrounding it. Some of them held sturdy metal poles with a loop of rope hanging of the end, while others wore elbow length black gloves, and their fingertips crackled with electrical discharge.  
  
Tai looked at Sensha, he started forwards, only to be stopped by his ankle. " That's Naga!"  
  
She made a confused face while looking at the massive white mass of fur ahead. "Huh?"  
  
"Korra's Polar-bear dog. Must have been waiting for her all night!"  
  
"Even worse. Those are animal control officers."  
  
"We need to help her." Tai stated resolutely, fueled by a desire to not fail again.  
  
"I'll handle it, Tai. You aren't in any condition to do anything." he opened his mouth to argue, but grudgingly conceded the point. Sensha led them over, and a man with supple handle bar moustache spotted them, and scowled as he walked over.  
  
"This is no concern of yours. Please keep your distance!"  
  
Sensha put on a cutesy voice, and laughed whimsically. That laugh haunted Tai. "Oh! Sorry! We just left her here so we could grab some breakfast! We have classes soon and we were walking her back to the apartment!." she tilted her head, a massive smile spreading across her features.  
  
Tai coughed to get the bewildered official's attention. "We were coming back to pick her up just now. Has she been any trouble?"  
  
The man's eyebrow twitched, a reflection of his rapidly breaking mental state. He shook his head "You two shouldn't have left a animal like that here, she could have wandered off and caused damage to the city."  
  
Sensha laughed again. "Oh it won't ever happen again, officer!" The man grumbled, and turned away from them, and whistled sharply. The catchers surrounding Naga immediately backed off, and joined into a single file line nearby.  
  
The man nodded at the two of them. "Don't do this again, you two. Next time we won't give warning." he turned and walked away, with his men following him around a corner, and disappearing from sight. Sensha sighed with relief, and Tai was looking at her, with a smirk on his face.  
  
"Stop it. I will drop you." she warned. Tai wiped the smirk off his face, and they looked back at Naga. The massive creature sniffed the air experimentally, and her ears pricked up as she recognized Tai's scent, immediately padding over, and settling in front of them, she howled a little.  
  
He reached forward, rubbing her snout gently. "It's okay girl. We're trying to find her too." Naga nuzzled his hand as he looked around. "Naga, I need you to stay here. We're going inside. We'll be back soon." surprisingly, the massive beast appeared to understand him perfectly, and reluctantly settled on her haunches and laid her head down on the ground. As they left to enter the building, she raised her head to watch them go in.  
  
The doors were open, and Sensha went to guide them inside. Tai spotted two pairs of metal boots standing guard on the other side, luckily she noticed as well, and immediately stepped back from view. They walked off, presumably towards the center of the room inside, and they acted quickly, they stood in the main hall, in full view of the officers there. Luckily all of them were preoccupied with something or someone near the stairs, so they had a bit of time to look around. Tai tapped Sensha on the shoulder, pointing to a small spiral staircase nearby, she nodded and took them up, quickly disappearing from the view of the officers.  
  
As the two of them climbed onto the top step, they saw the broken portion of the stone railing that guarded the edge of the right side walkway, and the massive hole in the wall behind it. The hole led into a pale blue room, very large and very spacious. Tai couldn't summon so much as a puff of air right now, so he nodded towards one of the main corridors that connected to the rest of the building. Sensha got the message and they walked through, finding a staircase that connected all three floors.  
  
She took them to the very top, and they found themselves in the corridor that opened onto the main hall's balcony. Tai leaned, trying to get a better view of the destroyed room. Whoever used it, obviously loved water, and the color blue. The checkered floor panels were all a light blue, with the gaps between them illuminated with a soft blue light, the largest of these panels was a darker tone, and also a darker light around it. On it were the remains of a immaculately carved desk. The wall behind it looked like it had swapped careers, and became a door instead, with devastating results. Clear, near freezing water flowed down it in a broken cascade, rapidly covering the floor, and was already soaking the two teen's feet.  
  
They heard the early morning horns and beeps of traffic, and the far off yelling of large gatherings of people, and they walked towards the source. One of the large windows letting light into the room was broken, practically blown apart by a massive force. Tai looked at Sensha and shrugged. "There's nothing here."  
  
The two of them walked back onto the balcony, and Tai saw something in the corner of his eye. A black length of metal wire, with two heavy iron balls at each end, was wrapped around a battered looking column. Tai arched an eyebrow and tapped Sensha on the shoulder, alerting her to the strange find. "That wasn't here last night."  
  
"That's a equalist weapon.", she moved forward a bit, getting closer to closely examine it. The whump of a camera bulb nearby made her whip around, nearly causing Tai to fall onto the ground. There was no one there, but they heard it again, and Sensha moved over to the balcony, peering down into the main hall. Tarrlok sat on the steps leading to the council table, being healed by a man with a impressively large pale blue hat. The whump originated from a photographer's camera, as he snapped shots of the devastated room.  
  
Tai growled, and Sensha quickly flicked him in the ear, getting the message he died down, and watched with narrowed eyes. "What's he playing at?"  
  
"I'm more concerned at where he got the bolo and glove from." she pursed her lips, wondering if Boto's warnings about the councilman were true after all.  
  
"He's corrupt remember?" Tai snidely remarked.  
  
Sensha gave him a wry smirk, than turned back to watching. Footsteps echoed around the cavernous space as Tenzin walked in, with an arched eyebrow raised impossibly high. He immediately saw Tarrlok sitting down on the steps and strode towards him, paying no mind to the wrecked floor he walked on. He started to talk with the councilman, Sensha and Tai could only catch snippets of what they were saying, and even than, it was impossible to guess at. Suddenly Tarrlok's eyes shifted, and were now looking at the broken railing near where the two teens listened from.  
  
He zeroed in on them immediately, and as he saw Tai, the boy instantly felt a pall of ill placed fear wash over him. Just as the feeling arrived it had vanished, as Tarrlok suddenly smiled like a shark, and called out to them. "Good morning Sensha. Tai." he said in a sing-song voice. Tenzin raised his eyebrow and turned to see them both.  
  
Tai managed to stand up straight, and grabbed Sensha, dropping off the balcony to the floor below. The air slowed, culminating in them practically floating down. Tai stumbled as he felt a loss of balance, his legs feeling like jelly. Sensha reaffirmed her grip on him, and she guided them towards Tenzin and Tarrlok.  
  
His master crossed his arms, and looked at them, particularly Tai, disapprovingly. "Care to explain what you were doing here?"  
  
Tai immediately went to talk first, only for Sensha to cut him off. "Uh, we were passing by, saw a hole in the wall, and as a citizen should do, we investigated." she smiled, and in Tai's mind, he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Is that so Sensha?" Tarrlok smiled like a shark, throwing a dark glance at Tai every chance he got.  
  
"Yes... sir." she laughed weakly, beginning to drag Tai towards the double doors. "In actual fact, we were just leaving. Right Tai?" Tai was staring daggers at Tarrlok, staying silent.  
  
Sensha edged towards the main doors, practically having to drag Tai with her. She led them through the doors, and they were outside again. They headed right, following the building until it terminated at a corner. Naga was just ahead, and they both moved towards her.  
  
Tai was breathing hard, and Sensha dropped him gently, propping him against Naga's side. The polar-bear dog didn't mind, and craned her large head to look at Tai, and sniff him. Sensha turned around, and saw Tenzin walking towards them, the many questions on his tongue evident even from where she stood.  
  
He stopped in front of Naga, and looked down at Tai. "What were you doing here-" he glanced at Sensha. "I apologize, my name is Tenzin."  
  
She inclined her head. "I'm Sensha." they both glanced back at Tai.  
  
Who was staring in the direction of City Hall. "Korra was here last night."  
  
"What?" Tenzin stared at his student, mind working out the consequences.  
  
"She went to confront Tarrlok-" He stopped and swallowed painfully, slipping down Naga's flank a little as Sensha looked at him with worry.  
  
"But the Equalists-"  
  
With a grunt he pushed himself back up. "Yeah. Tarrlok's lying."  
  
His master crossed his arms. "That's... a very bold accusation Tai, I'm inclined to believe you, but are you sure?" No matter what Tenzin said, Tai knew what he saw.  
  
"Of course I am." he sighed, but Tenzin's curious expression told him to keep going. "I thought she might need some help with Tarrlok, so I used the glider to get to the mainland." He hung his head, that feeling of helplessness refreshing again. "But I was too late. Tarrlok used a weird bending technique to...control her body somehow, and he threw her into a truck. I gave chase and was about to break her out when he got me as well, and I fell into the alley and blacked out." He looked down at the ground, screwing his eyes shut as a wetness threatened to burst through.  
  
Tenzin noticed the signs of what the teen was about to do. "Don't do that Tai!"  
  
He looked up suddenly. "Do what? I failed. Plain and simple."  
  
"Grow up! You couldn't possibly have known what was going to happen, so don't beat yourself up about it."  
  
"We have no clue where she is!"  
  
"Not quite. We'll head down to the station, try and find surveillance photos taken by the night patrol ships. From there we can figure something out."  
  
Tai nodded. He suddenly thought of something, hoping to get at least one good thing today. "Tenzin, what's happening with Mako, Bolin and Asami being released?"  
  
He grunted in frustration. "It's getting nowhere. No matter what I do, I can't get them out. Right now they are looking at five months until they will be released."  
  
"We can still try." Sensha pitched in, unsure of what else she could offer.  
  
Tenzin nodded as he looked at Naga. "What about her?"  
  
Tai had the answer. "She can go back to the island."  
  
Not waiting for an answer, he turned to Naga. "Okay girl, I need you back at the Island." he scratched her behind the ears. "Can you do that for me?" She stood up and barked, than lumbered away at a fast speed, quickly leaving them behind.  
  
"How did you-"  
  
"I met with one on my way to Republic City."  
  
Tenzin shook his head, bewildered, and turned away from them. They followed him back to the main doors, nearby lay Oogi, who was yawning and grumbling as he waited for his master to come back. He sneezed, and the massive gust of wind utterly obliterated the rose bush in front of his giant nose. Tenzin gave him a disapproving look as he clambered onto his neck, picking up the reins and waiting for Tai and Sensha to climb aboard.  
  
Sensha stopped him, and climbed on first, reaching her hand down to Tai. He grabbed it, but nearly slid out of her grip as she pulled him into the saddle. "Thanks."  
  
She glanced at him, smirking. "No problem."  
  
The mighty creature took off, and they rose until they were just above the blue dome sitting atop the magnificent structure. Tai watched the streets below, and as he scanned the waterfront nearby, he saw a small white mass moving through the calm water, towards the island that sat in the middle of the bay.  
  
He sat back and watched the skies over them race by quickly, whiling away the travel time by picking out shapes in the cloud formations. No one had any cause to strike up a conversation, leaving the journey as a quiet one, giving each of them the chance to catch up on their own thoughts.  
  
The five iron capped domes of the police headquarters came into view, as they flew over a road that ran straight for almost a mile in each direction. Tai peered over the edge of the saddle, and saw that a large number of metal bending police officers streamed in and out of the building, using every door it had. All berthing points on the domes were completely filled, with airships coming and going as they patrolled the city.  
  
He heard Tenzin mutter something, most likely a question to himself, and than they descended, alighting onto a space just in front of the main doors. A few of the officers below barked orders, quickly working to clear the flow of people from walking underneath the ten ton creatures shadow.  
  
Oogi set down with a grumble, and Tenzin slid off of his neck, and waited patiently for Sensha to help Tai down. They waited for the stream of people to abide, and quickly went inside, before it could start up again. The lobby was complete chaos. Every corner held groups of officers, listening to reports on the radio, or taking statements from a average citizen. A few had commandeered one of the long benches nearby, laying spools and lengths of wire across it as they modified, tweaked or repaired their equipment. One of them looked over, and excused himself, taking off his wolf helmet as he neared the three of them.  
  
"Hey Boto." Tai said. The water bender didn't even bat an eyelid when he saw Sensha supporting him, merely nodding his head as if he expected something like this would happen.  
  
He addressed Tenzin first. "Councilman, sorry I have to ask but is there a reason you're here? It's a real mess right now."  
  
"Where is Saikhan, Boto?"  
  
Boto held a puzzling look, and a questioning eyebrow. "Uh...he's in Commander Makei's office. Trying to work out a plan to find the place the equalists took Korra to." Tai sighed and shook his head, with Sensha smiling apologetically. "Unless that's not true?" He ventured.  
  
Tenzin clapped a hand onto his shoulder. "Never mind that now, can you take us there?"  
  
"Sure thing. First things first..." he flipped the pouch on his hip open, and drew a stream of water out of it. "Tai, we need to take care of your injuries first." Tai sighed and grunted a little, as he raised his leg to set his foot down on the bench nearby, clinging to Sensha for balance.  
  
"You can heal?", the young man nodded, his dark blue eyes focusing on molding the shapeless blob of water around Tai's ankle.  
  
"Taught by the best." No one needed to ask to clarify who that was.  
  
Tai smiled inadvertently, as the aches and pains in his ankle disappeared and it could fully support his weight again. He pulled away from Sensha, and nodded gratefully towards Boto. "Thanks man."  
  
Boto chuckled, before walking off at a quick pace, urging them to follow. "I'm not as good as Korra, but it should heal up alright." he took them through the main corridor and up the stairs, passing a few officers along the way, including an arguing pair.   
  
"Not this again Hei..." the older of them complained.  
  
"But it makes sense right? The councilman's been looking to get rid of her for a while now, we all know it. Who's to say he didn't kidnap her?"  
  
"Because kidnapping the Avatar is a monumentally stupid thing to do, now let's go!"  
  
The younger of the pair sighed and fell silent, nodding at Boto as he led them up the final flight of stairs. Their feet collectively found the plush red carpet of the second floor offices, occupied mainly by the higher ups and more bureaucratically minded officers of the institution. Of course there was one exception to the rule, and that exception sat in a office that Boto had just opened the door to.  
  
Makei was inside, and was rubbing his temples in frustration, tossing glances at the top drawer on his desk every once in a while. Saikhan was doing the same, and looked up the four of them stepped into the room. Tenzin took the lead here. "Commander. Chief."  
  
Saikhan looked at Makei, and the commander shrugged. "Councilman." It was than that Makei noticed the three others in his retinue. "Lieutenant Boto, doesn't the Taskforce hold debriefs in the sub level planning office?"  
  
"Sir. I only came along to accompany Councilman Tenzin."  
  
Saikhan looked up and stopped rubbing his temples. "Hold it Commander. How can we help, Tenzin?"  
  
Tenzin eyed him warily. "I've come here to negotiate the release of three new arrivals."  
  
"As I said before, I can't, they've been listed as equalist sympathisers! My hands are tied."  
  
"Sorry Tenzin, but we're focusing on a far more important matter now." Makei added.  
  
He strode forwards, stroking his beard. "Yes. Korra's disappearance."  
  
"Anything to add?"  
  
"She was on the island last night, before she disappeared. I made sure of that." he tossed a look at Tai, who shrugged.  
  
Makei rubbed his chin and sighed. "Sensha?"  
  
She shook her head. "I only know what everyone else does."  
  
"Pity. Tai?"  
  
"I..." he hesitated, suddenly painfully aware of what could happen if the information reached Tarrlok's ears. That could spell trouble for both him and Tenzin. He avoided looking at Sensha and Boto. "I don't know."  
  
Makei watched him like a hawk. "But aren't you a student alongside her? Don't you both train under Tenzin?"  
  
He swallowed. "We do. But...no, I don't know where she could have gone."  
  
The commander sighed explosively. "And we're still on square one." his hand flicked over a sheet of paper, and he glanced at it before scrunching it up and tossing it into the bin.  
  
Saikhan rubbed his face. "We're stretched thin. We don't have the manpower to search the entire city for the Avatar and our missing men. And our esteemed councilman will be expecting results soon."  
  
Inside Tai's mind, he raged, and desperately wanted to tell them the truth. But than Tai hit upon a idea. "Hold on, if we find information on where the Equalists took your men, will you release Mako, Asami, and Bolin?"  
  
Sensha followed his lead. "We're the infiltration squad, we're perfect for situations like this!"  
  
Makei and Saikhan glanced at each other, and a silent understanding was born between them. The chief looked back at Tai and Sensha, than at Boto. "Lieutenant?"  
  
Boto straightened, standing with his hands behind him. "We can do it, sir."  
  
"You do realize you'll have no support whatsoever? You'll be operating alone and on your own time?"  
  
"We do."  
  
Makei shrugged. And Saikhan nodded. "Alright. You get information on our men, and I'll authorize the release of the three of them. Councilman, a request?" he turned to Tenzin. "I'll be blunt, I'll need you to run interference for us. You need to make sure Tarrlok doesn't discover what we're up to."  
  
The air bender raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were in his pocket?"  
  
"Unfortunately. As long as I can keep his influence limited to myself, I'll be fine."  
  
Tenzin understood perfectly. "That is a huge risk, chief." he inclined his head. "Thank you."  
  
He turned to the other three, and jerked his head at the door. They understood and left the office, with Tenzin coming out last. Everyone turned to Tai, and Sensha beat them all to it. "Tai what's wrong with you!"  
  
"Several things. But on this one I'm right."  
  
Sensha had a frosty tone to her voice. "What..."  
  
"I can't tell them, I do that, that means Tarrlok can use his tricks on them to find out what they know, he does that, and we're all screwed."  
  
"I...ergh!" She threw up her hands, and left down the stairs, Boto followed her, casting looks back at them. Tenzin glanced at him. "Is that the truth?"  
  
He sighed. "Well. The only people I can tell are those two and Korra's friends. I know you Tenzin, but if Tarrlok gets to you, your family could become a target."  
  
Tenzin seemed to be bottling up something, than sighed, releasing it anti-climatically. "I trust you." he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Be careful Tai. Republic City can be dangerous for the unprepared." he went back into the office, closing the door behind him. Tai stood there, and nodded.  
  
 _I'll find her._  
  
Tai leant back against the wall. No one passing through really gave him any pause, being that they had business of their own to see to. He looked up at the ceiling, and breathed out, trying to clear his head and focus. Something he really needed to get better at.  
  
"Tai." His ears tried their best to block out the man who had just said his name, trying to send messages to his fear-stricken brain to tune out the voice. A shadow fell across him, and reluctantly he looked down, seeing Tarrlok standing in front of him, his arm in a sling.  
  
He showed no signs of what happened the night before, his hair braided and neat. Tai's nose curled at the smell of the heady perfume which wafted off the man, and his eyes were almost certain they could see clouds of the terrible stuff.  
  
"Make it quick."  
  
Tarrlok showed that shark like grin again, and Tai thought he caught a glimpse of the feral light that danced in his eyes, belying his true nature. "Don't think I don't know."  
  
Tai feigned ignorance. "About what?"  
  
Suddenly the weasel-snake leaned in close, and Tai felt his blood move in strange ways. "I have my eye on you." Than he whispered something, framing it in a guttural growl. "You'll never find her." He hid the increasing feeling of panic behind a glare, but was finding it hard to concentrate on the focus of his anger. His panic welled suddenly, when without any input from him, his pinky finger bent backwards, making him gasp at the shock.  
  
Anyone passing by wouldn't have seen the feral grin on the councilman, or the fire burning in the boy's eyes. And just like that, he was gone, already walking down the hallway in the direction of the elevator.  
  
Tai let the façade down, and the blood drained from his face, leaving it pale. He felt paralysed, and doubt flickered across his features.


	10. The Search, and the Urchin

Tai walked off, paying no mind to the officers and clerks he passed by, turning the corner, he found the stairs down, and took them two at a time, getting to the ground level in no time. He passed the reception desk, not even acknowledging her greeting as he pushed the doors open, blinking slightly as the sun light blared into his vision, a sign that at last the cloud cover had lifted, he confirmed it, glancing upwards to see a bright blue sky. Internally, he chuckled darkly. Certainly didn't seem so bright down here. Sensha and Boto were nearby, talking quietly to each other. As he approached they stopped, with the girl scowling at him, and the young man adopting a confused expression again.  
  
Sensha crossed her arms. "Something to say?"  
  
"Here isn't the best place."  
  
Boto spoke up. "We can talk on the way to our lead."  
  
Tai blinked. "We already have one?"  
  
The waterbender stopped a moment, glancing back at him. "Remember Skoochy?"  
  
"I remember you mentioning a dark sewer and an electrified glove, his name popped up."  
  
Boto sighed and shook his head. "He's a good kid, but sometimes throttling him is at the top of my list." Sensha chuckled while Tai smirked.

"So, what's our transport?" He asked, the smirk starting to disappear as his thoughts kept trying to drag him back to where he failed.  
  
Boto grinned and led them back into the station. They followed him past the desk, turning into the corridor that terminated at the huge freight elevator. When everyone was inside, Boto pulled the lever, and with a slight lurch the platform began a jerky descent. The gates slid aside, and a troop of fully armored metal benders were facing them. Boto quickly squeezed past them, leading the others down the hallway. He turned right, and Tai remembered this being the way to the squad briefing room. But they bypassed it, with Boto hitting a button next to a massive slab of metal directly opposite. With a squealing noise, the slab slid to the right, and settled in front of the wall with a jerky halt.  
  
He led the way into a gargantuan space, with almost every wall pockmarked with garage doors, a few were open, revealing the massive piles of armor and metal spools inside, a few others held waiting trucks, currently tended to by mechanics covered in varying degrees of oil, they held no tools on their person, instead using their hands to manipulate the inner workings of the vehicles.  
  
Tai noticed one of the bays was conspicuously smaller than the rest, and Boto confirmed his assumption by moving over to it, and raising the shutter with the pull of a lever. It was sparse compared to the others, but the things it held were almost divinely crafted, compared to the rest. Taking up the majority of the small space, and if objects had feelings, pride, was a stunningly sublime motorcycle. The chassis cover was a shiny black, with a trio of swirling spirals made of gleaming silver protruding from the smooth surface. The metal that made up the cycle's skeleton and machinery gleamed perfectly, showing a silvery luster emanating from every inch of it.  
  
The handle bars were surprisingly austere compared to the rest of it, merely wrapped in a rough brown leather material. He noticed a small length of thin black string was wrapped around the right handlebar, with a ocean blue sphere of cold rock weighing it down, he watched as it caught the attention of the bay's single light, which set the inside ablaze with a pale blue, yet strangely warm, glow. Tai than saw the little grey sidecar that was crudely attached to the sublime machine, and frowned.  
  
"Our ride?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
He sighed. "I'll take the sidecar." Boto frowned, almost as if he was expecting a massive argument. Sensha smirked at Tai, grabbing one of the black helmets nearby and putting it on experimentally. Her amber eyes were still vivid, even when hidden behind the visor.  
  
Tai also grabbed a helmet, than looked at Boto. "No helmet for you?"  
  
Boto answered him by putting his wolf helm on. "No need. This is a bike helmet as well."  
  
"Eh, I shouldn't be surprised..."  
  
Boto chuckled and mounted the seat, placing his hands on the handle bars. Sensha wrapped her hands around his waist, and Tai sat down in the little sidecar, grunting slightly as he sat on a protruding bolt.  
  
The motorcycle growled beautifully, and Boto handled it expertly, steering it forwards and through the massive entry way to the outside, guiding up it the ramp.  
  
A armored truck, with voices carrying to them from the inside, passed them at the top of the ramp. They fitted in behind the massive vehicle, and as soon as both peeled out onto Avatar road, Boto immediately gunned the engine, coaxing the cycle to overtake it on the right side, falling in behind a much more speedier bright red roadster, the sun caught the pearlescent paint, causing Tai's eyes to bleed at the explosion of color.  
  
He flipped the visor down, just as the roadster sped up, with Boto matching it as it turned left, going through a street lined with buildings displaying every shade of red, orange yellow, reflected by it's occupants in their choice of clothing. Sensha's eyes narrowed, and Tai glanced over at her, having to shout over the rushing wind.  
  
"Sensha! You alright?"  
  
She nodded stiffly. Than changed her mind, shaking her head. "No, this is Agni Kai territory.", she grimaced, and tapped Boto on the shoulder, the young man was focused completely on the road, and could only grunt to show he acknowledged her. "Skoochy lives around here now?" she asked, not quite hiding the sense of concern or alarm in her voice.  
  
Boto nodded. "Unfortunately. Had to move after equalists began taking over the neighborhood, not to worry though, he's smart, got in good with the triad by giving them info about the monsoons and quakers. He and his little gang get free food and are left alone." Sensha stayed silent, and nodded her assent.  
  
"The Agni Kai's? How bad are they?" Tai asked, genuinely curious.

"Remember those stories about the Fire Nation back during the Hundred Year War?" Sensha answered him first, keeping her gaze locked straight ahead. In the corner of her eye he nodded. "They're fans of Ozai, to put it simply. Anyone who isn't a 'pure' firebender is a target."

"Wait, why?" Tai couldn't wrap his head around how thick they sounded. They were based in the most multi-cultural city on the planet, a melting pot of culture, and they hate anyone who isn't pure like they are?

"They weren't always like that. Back when Zuko was still Fire Lord they operated by a code. That stopped when their Dragonshead disappeared and one of her men took over." Boto explained, keeping one eye on the road ahead as he guided them past a string of red colored stalls and vendors. "They still don't compare to the monsoons, they're sane compared to them."

Boto stopped talking, and concentrated on another turn, guiding the cycle down a cobblestoned alleyway, meant for feet rather than wheels. This translated in Tai's sidecar being knocked around savagely, and he held on for dear life. The cobblestones ran out suddenly, as the wheels sank into the loose dirt of a track running alongside a canal, the water was remarkably clear, seeing as it ran straight through the middle of a congested neighborhood.  
  
Evidence of this was seen in the occasional piles of rubbish that floated down, flow, disappearing in the dark, churning mouth of a large drain. A small stone bridge connected across the gap, and that was where Boto finally stopped their all dismounted, and Tai gracefully tumbled out of the side car, groaning as his face took some abuse from the dirt covered ground. He got up quickly, prompting a sigh from Sensha and a shake of the head from Boto.  
  
"All done, your gracefulness?"  
  
He blew out a puff of air, flipping a loose strand of black hair out of his face. "I'm good."  
  
Boto nodded. "Skoochy and his gang live just through there," he pointed across the bridge, through which a large circular area was in view, around the edges they could see from their position were the dark maws of empty drain pipes, dotted all over the walls of the enclosed space. "You two will be talking to him, he'll probably ask for a favor, but believe me, it's much quicker and less of a headache, to get what he needs." The two teens sighed as they nodded.

Sensha twigged onto something, and frowned, crossing her arms. "Wait a minute, where will you be?"  
  
Boto flipped his visor back down. "I'll be tracking down the next lead."  
  
Tai eyed him. "Don't tell me it's a clown at a traveling circus?" he joked. Boto actually nodded, in all seriousness. Causing his face to fall immensely.  
  
"You're close, it's a armadillo-tiger tamer." he smiled behind his visor. "I should be back tomorrow morning, Sensha." he turned to her, "Have you got the pouch?" she frowned.  
  
"Yes..." she dug a small crimson pouch out of her pocket, and snapped the golden clasp open, revealing two large golden yuans, and ten smaller sized silver ones, and a lone, tiny bronze yuan. She nodded and shut it, placing it back in her pocket.  
  
"Good." without a further word, he gunned the engine, and drove past them, disappearing back onto the street. Tai glanced at Sensha. "We're sharing a room aren't we?"  
  
She nodded somberly, while he shrugged, perfectly content with their situation. "If it helps, I call floor." that brought the tinges of a smirk to her mouth, and she nodded, turning to walk across the bridge. He followed closely, feeling vaguely uneasy being inside gang territory. The walls on either side of them were grey, with cracks running through them, bolted onto their surface were thick wires that snaked everywhere. They made their way into the open space, ending up in the lowered central dip. They both scratched their heads, Sensha heard a whistling noise, and whirled Tai out of the way. Tai narrowed his eyes and glanced behind them, seeing a metal bolo wrapped loosely around one of the wires. The voice of a jaded minor echoed out of one of the open pipes.  
  
"Where's Boto?"  
  
Tai went to answer, only for Sensha to shoosh him. "He's not with us."  
  
No answer came from the pipe, only another bolo, the weight of the ends spun Tai around as it wrapped around his wrists painfully. "Hey! We're not here to hurt you!" he shouted. He heard a chuckle from the pipe. That pissed him off. "We're on Boto's squad you little runt!"  
  
He heard the pipe chuckle again. A single kid, wearing a dirty coal miner's beret, walked towards them. He nodded at Sensha, than stared at Tai. "Boto's friends huh? Make it quick."  
  
"We're trying to track down Korra." Sensha explained. "Skoochy, you know a lot about what goes in the city, can you help us?"  
  
Skoochy hid his surprise behind a bored face. "Why would I do that?"  
  
"The city needs the Avatar."  
  
"Touching, but how does finding her help me?"  
  
Tai growled. "Maybe it'll help you when I don't slam you into the air!"  
  
"Save it, windy." Skoochy crossed his arms. "I might know what road they took."  
  
"Where?"  
  
He cleared his throat, and held a dirty palm out. "I need something from you two first."  
  
Sensha smiled graciously. "Of course Skoochy. What do you need?"  
  
The boy looked around at all of the other tunnels, than to them. His stomach growled loudly. "The Agni's took a big box of food from us, I want it back."  
  
"That doesn't seem so hard."  
  
"From their headquarters."  
  
Tai sighed. "Fine, where do we start?"  
  
"The thug's who took it probably stopped at their warehouse, I have no clue where their headquarters is, so you'll have to figure it out from there."  
  
Sensha nodded, and glanced at the bolo wrapped around Tai's wrists. A slender flame emanated from her index finger, and she burnt the rope holding his wrists together, it fell to the ground, the two ends charred and glowing orange. Tai rubbed his wrists as he followed Sensha out of the hideout.  
  
"So we what do we do? Take out the thugs now, or follow them back to their warehouse?"  
  
"I'm thinking we follow them, it's better than hoping one of them has a map with them."  
  
"Good thinking."

He shrugged. "I try." Sensha rolled her eyes at him as they walked out into the street again, standing near the wall to let people pass through.  
  
As if on cue, the flow of people ended, and they saw a commotion across the street,  a massive man whose arms were twice as thick as Tai's and bulging with muscle held a shopkeeper up by his collar, the old man was terrified, his eyes glistening with fear as he pleaded and begged to be put down. Watching this with amusement was a woman, whose brown eyes danced with delight at her partner's display, and her mouth was twisted in a cruel sneer.  
  
Tai glanced at Sensha, "Wanna do the good couple routine again?", he laughed, and Sensha whacked him in the shoulder. She smirked, her amber eyes twinkling with amusement. "Let's."  
  
She gripped his arm with the power of a vice, making his eyes water briefly. Scowling at her only to be answered by a innocent smile, he shook his head and walked across the street with her in tow. The old man's eyes flashed towards them briefly, recognizing a way to get rid of the two thugs. He got into character, smiling sweetly at Sensha, while she returned the gesture with a warm squeeze.  
  
They both chuckled at the same time, prompting the cruel woman to turn towards them, scowling. "Buzz off." she said.  
  
Tai noticed she was holding a golden pendant in the shape of a flickering flame in her hand, and he laughed, immediately brushing past her without a care. The old man's eyes seemed to boggle when he realized that these two would be no help at all. From his vantage point at the grip of the brute, he showed a toothy smile.  
  
"C-can I help you two?"  
  
Sensha smiled at him. "Oh! We were just having a browse, don't mind us!"  
  
The shopkeeper laughed uneasily. "Y-yeah, I'm not in any trouble or anything.."  
  
Suddenly Sensha dropped the act, giving him a wink. The old man was definitely confused now, as he tried to wrap his head around the gesture, she just as quickly got into character. "Anything you like baby?"  
  
Tai was busy running his hands over the shiny top of the stall, staring in wonder at the jewels contained within. Than he glanced at Sensha. "She's right here with me." he said sweetly, inside his head he replayed a impending scene of a figure being immolated in a massive explosion, with the amber eyes of the girl nearby blazing furiously.  
  
She answered him with a sickening smile, and turned towards the old man, suddenly she blinked twice, as if noticing he was being lifted two feet into the air. "Why are you doing that to him?" she asked the pale skinned brute.  
  
The cruel woman answered for him. "You don't get out much, do you little girl?"  
  
The big guy chuckled, sounding like the beats of a bass drum. "We're Agni Kai's."  
  
"Oh! Those terrible people!" Sensha exclaimed. Behind her back she straightened her fingers, and a tiny flame appeared above each tip. "You two aren't affiliated with them are you?"  
  
The brute scratched his head in confusion, Tai assumed it was because of the word 'affiliated'. Poor guy probably never went to school. His cheesy grin persevered as he casually stepped back a bit, inching bit by bit behind the massive thug. His partner advanced menacingly towards Sensha, who still bore her smile and good cheer as she jammed her bony face right up against hers, trying to scare her.  
  
The girl giggled, than suddenly changed her warm smile to a menacing one. She drew her hand out from behind her back, and pushed it into the woman's chest. The five wisps of fire combined, and billowed outwards, sending the Agni Kai thug hurtling backwards into a alleyway nearby. Right as her partner turned to investigate, Tai acted, and gathered a ball of air in his palm, he jabbed down towards the back of the giant's knee, causing him to cry out and fall to the pavement, dropping the old man in the process. He mouthed thanks as he grabbed his cart, which jingled and tinkled as he pushed it away from the four of them, disappearing around the street corner.  
  
He moved fast for a man pushing sixty.  
  
Tai jumped on top of the brute, his feet perched on the man's belly precariously. He wobbled slightly as the giant began to roll and tustle under him, he quickly stomped on the man's face, trying to quell his movements, instead the brute roared and grabbed his legs. Suddenly the ground dropped away as he was dangling from the strong man's grip, head now where his feet aught to be. He struggled and tried to gather some wind to force the gigantic meat hooks open, and was rewarded with a swift punch landing on his chest. He coughed and sputtered, and barely registered the man throwing him down the alley where his partner had landed. He regained his sense as he neared his landing, and curled into a roll, receiving several scratches instead of a few broken bones. He popped back up, than ducked again, as he sense, or heard, the screaming woman blast a ball of flame at him from behind. He twirled around, windmilling his arms, the air in between them was shaped into a pressurized ball, and slammed into woman, sending her tumbling along the cracked cement beneath their feet.  
  
He heard the roar of a massive stream of fire hurtling towards him from behind, and he quickly spun to the side, unleashing a few blasts of wind from his hands and feet. A few of them were on target, but only managed to elicit a small growl of frustration from the brute channeling the stream at him. He moved forwards slowly, lumbering with each step as he kept directing the flames towards Tai, he took advantage of the narrow area, and began sweeping it from side to side, scorching the walls and partially melting discarded pieces of rubbish on the ground.  
  
Tai dove underneath the stream, looking at a rush of fire above him, the intense heat hit him full on, and he began to sweat and his vision dimmed. He flung a hand behind him, and blasted some wind, giving him a little more speed and distance as he fought desperately to stay conscious. As soon as he felt the rough material of the thug's shoes brush against the sole of his shoes, he quickly wrapped a hand around the man's left ankle, with one hand trailing, he was dragged past out from under the stream, and he let go, he was just above the ground now, and could pick out the many unique cracks and fissures in the rock, he pushed himself up with an almighty blast of air, propelling him a few feet above the big guy. He hadn't noticed that Tai was no longer at the other end, and never saw his foot crash into the side of his thick skull. The momentum lent strength to his kick, and the thug was out cold before he tipped forwards, and crashed towards the ground.  
  
Tai landed roughly, and caught a flash of movement and fire in the corner of his eye, he whipped his head around, seeing the flaming hand of the woman inches from his face. Sensha leapt over him, using her shoulder to send the woman crashing to the ground with a sigh.  
  
He sighed with relief, and tipped his head back against the wall. Sensha pulled him up, and than crossed her arms, scowling. "I shouldn't have acted so quickly, we can't find the warehouse now!" she grunted with frustration.  
  
"Don't worry about it, we'll check their pockets for a map or something."  
  
The fire died in her eyes as she calmed down, giving him a smile. "I-sorry, you're right."  
  
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?", she sighed, frowning. "I can't stand those brutes." she looked away from him, a bad memory welling up in her thoughts. He noticed this. "Did they do something to you?" he asked quietly.  
  
She glanced back at him, than looked down at the ground. "Not to me.", she sobbed a little, and Tai reached a hand out towards her. She didn't shrink back or shy away, but regarded him with a gentle look. "My best friend."  
  
Getting the message, he settled his hand on her shoulder. "Say no more. I know the feeling." she sniffed a little, wiping a tear away from her eye.  
  
"Well...not quite the same, but similar."  
  
"Moment. Ruined." Sensha stated, but she chuckled, and seemed to lighten up with his comment. He settled for a smile, and shrugged. Turning his attention to the unconscious woman, he patted the pockets on her dark crimson pants, and made a small satisfied noise, as he pulled out a small folded piece of paper, yellowed, but still serviceable. He waved it a little, than unfolded it, revealing a map of the district they were standing in.  
  
He walked out of the alley, gesturing for Sensha to follow. The street was as lively as before, although the flow of traffic had increased slightly, and the smell of freshly baked pastries wafted across to Tai's nose, he briefly lost sight of their objective, currently loose in the mental images of what awaited if he entered the small little corner shop. Sensha tapped his shoulder, giving him a strange look.  
  
He looked around, searching for the symbol that would tell them which street they were on. After a bit he noticed the profile of a small but thick slab of wood, painted crimson, and displaying the proud image of a baying bull-crocodile. He turned to Sensha, and stabbed his index finger down on a tiny line running near the waterfront. "Bull-crocodile street. Aaaand," he slid it across the parchment, settling on a large black rectangle sitting two blocks away, circled with faded red ink. "That's the warehouse." he folded the map up, slipping it into a voluminous pocket on his greatcoat.  
  
Sensha pulled back a sleeve, revealing a wrist watch, it's brass surface shining brilliantly. "It's 1:00 am now. How about we grab something before we head down?"  
  
"Sure." Tai than smirked. "Got the pouch?"

* * *

_Police Headquarters_

A woman was sobbing into a faded yellow handkerchief, as she and her husband were led into the reception area from the outside, with the other myriad people in the straggly line acting the same way, a old man with calm blue eyes and rough and wrinkled brown skin merely bowed his head, as the woman next to him held onto his hand, trying to keep him close. At the back of the line was a young man with blazing yellow eyes, who scowled and raged at the officers around him

"We aren't Equalists!" He threw his hands around, nearly hitting a few people around him with the metal cuffs binding them before two officers restrained him. The procession was flanked by a squad of metal benders, with two officers assigned to each person in the line. Commander Makei quietly sighed as he walked at the back, taking the rearguard.  
  
a few heads turned to look at the new arrivals, a few of them instantly turning away in shame or disappointment, others looked on, hopelessly snared by the spectacle of a fully equipped squad of officers making their way towards the reception desk.  
  
As the group of prisoners reached the reception desk, one of the men at the front went to check in with the receptionist. Makei waited as he did so, checking to make sure none of his 'criminals' tried to escape or make a break for the exit. The man finished his talk and walked towards the commander.  
  
"Sir, everything is in order, we'll get them to processing."  
  
He nodded, and the young officer immediately made a crisp 180, taking his place at the front of the group, and leading them towards the freight elevator. Makei waited until they had all gotten on board before walking off through that corridor, taking the stairs instead. A few passing officers greeted him as they made their way down, he returned the gesture, not wanting to stop them in their duties. He took the corridor that lead to his office, slipping inside and closing the door. With a sigh he took off his hat, hanging it off the back of his chair as he sat down.  
  
He was still for a moment, trying not to register the neat stack of reports and missives looking back at him from his desk. The topmost one, was typed with bold, black ink, and gave off a sense of foreboding just from staring at the perfectly square paper.  
  
With a grunt of frustration he looked away, and with a well practised hand, opened the topmost drawer, causing a bottle of golden brown liquid to roll and bump against it's side. He grabbed it by the neck, hoisting it out of the space and setting it down in front of him, standing vigil next to the stack of reports. His right hand continued rummaging around in the drawer, and found a cylindrical shape, he brought the shot glass out without ceremony, and set it down next to the bottle of amberei.  
  
As he curled his fingers around the smooth exterior of the bottle's body, he found himself back in a seedy little dive, body bowed as he loomed over a dirty glass of dubious liquid. He sighed and scratched his stubble as he watched a man nearby get roughed up by a few punks, the little spikes and metal inserts in their clothing instantly pegging them as wannabe quakers. He looked back to his drink, staring down into the murky depths as he tried to forget the events of a week ago. Her green eyes were absolutely screaming for help, her pale and dainty hand was reaching towards him, and all he could do was stand there and watch her disappear, never to be seen or heard by him again...  
  
He growled and shoved the little glass back into the drawer, shutting it roughly, and he grabbed the bottle by the neck, popping off the lid, and tipped his head back, pouring a generous amount of the yellow ambrosia into his throat. He slammed it back down, and picked up a report, scowling as he saw the words 'non bender' and 'suspect' repeated again and again. He had a right mind to empty the bottle than and there. Tenzin be damned.  
  
A knock on the door shook him out of his torpor. He stoppered the bottle and put it away, as Saikhan opened the door, and approached the seat in front of him.  
  
"How'd the latest raid go?" he asked.  
  
"Without a hitch. 'Equalists' were unarmed, didn't put up much of a fight."  
  
"I'm sorry Mak, I can't do anything to countermand the councilman's order."  
  
"Not until every non-bender's behind bars, right?"  
  
"You think I don't know what's he up to?" Saikhan said defensively. His nose twitched, and he glanced at his friend. "Amberei?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
The chief sighed as he ran a hand down his face. "Spirits. Everyone in the force could use a hit of the stuff."  
  
Makei gave him a dark chuckle. "I'll drink to that." he sighed, and picked up one of the reports. Looking at a picture of a old woman bowed with age, yet her brown eyes still glistened with intelligence and life. "Juna Pei-bo, chef for the Badgermole restaurant, out on bolong street. Charges include; Possession of illegal weapons; harboring of equalist elements; and resisting arrest."

He dropped the sheet, and it floated down to the top of the pile just as he snatched up another, this one with a middle-aged man, his face gaunt and contrasting with his muscled arms. "And here we have Tei Pon, laborer for the good folks at Futuretech, arrested for Possession of Illegal Weapons, Harboring Equalist Elements, and hurting a fly when he sneezed." He chuckled to himself as he flicked the paper away, letting it go back to the pile. "These are Amon's best?"  
  
  
A ringing noise drew their attention to a small but ornate phone sitting on top of the cabinet nearby. Saikhan gave him a wary look and brought took it down from there, placing it in front of Makei. He gestured towards it, and Makei took the receiver off it's rest, holding it up to his ear.  
  
"Commander Makei...yes...of course...right away sir." he slammed it back down, not caring if the voice on the other end noticed. Saikhan gave him a knowing look. Makei just sighed, and stood up, grabbing his hat and slipping the leather strap underneath his chin.  
  
"Another alert?"  
  
"Our esteemed councilman has requested my presence at city hall, seems the equalists attacked him and the avatar, and kidnapped her." he finished, noticing that Saikhan looked away briefly for a moment.  
  
He dismissed it. "Time to be a 'hero' again." he muttered.

* * *

_The warehouse._   


  
Tai threw the wrapper away, landing it in the open mouth of a small bin next to him. Sensha was watching the area down the street, following the movements of a thug who had been walking back and forth across the open gate that granted access to the large, squat building behind it. It loomed over the area, and had it's back to the sea.  
  
"Looks pretty easy to get into." Tai noted, prompting Sensha to glance back at him. She pursed her lips, and shrugged. "Maybe. We'll need to get closer to find out."  
  
"So we trying to avoid a brawl?" he asked jokingly, she gave him a wry smirk. "Preferably before we find the crate. We need to be quiet about it though." Tai chuckled. "That. I can do." he adopted a serious look as he gazed at the fence surrounding the building. "I can get us both over the fence, save us from knocking out the guy at the front. Sensha nodded. "Sounds good." she looked at her watch. "It's about to hit 2:00 pm, head out now?"  
  
"Yeah." they both walked across the street, crossing to the footpath that ran near the water, placing them on a straight line to the front gate of the warehouse area. The guard had his back to them, as he walked to the other end of the front side fence, the tuneless sounds of his whistling carrying over to them as they neared the bend of the road, now only twenty feet or so from where he was standing before.  
  
Stacks of containers and crates were propped up against the other side of the fence, making it almost impossible to get over it. He scanned for a gap in the stacks, rewarded with a tiny little space in between containers nestled in the fence corner nearest to them. He stole a glance at the patrolling guard, checking that he was still walking slowly towards the other corner, and he nodded at Sensha.  
  
They both walked briskly towards their side of the fence, with Tai standing just to the side of the gap, he placed his hand over the other, and held it out in front of him. Sensha took a few steps back, and looked at him. He concentrated on his open palm, forming a cushion of air over it, which tickled a bit. Confident that the mass was now stable, he nodded at her, she took a deep breath, and ran forwards, before leaping into the air, her foot now hovering over Tai's palm.  
  
He thrust it up, and the mass mirrored his movement, and rushed upwards. Sensha yelped as she found herself taken over the fence and through the gap, now plummeting towards the hard ground. Tai acted quickly, creating a cushion of air for to catch her with. It slowed her down, and she rolled to take some of the impact. She sighed with relief and gave him a thumbs up, he gathered the air beneath his feet, and launched himself over as well, landing next to her gracefully.  
  
They put their backs to the container and moved to look around the corner. They saw five rows of containers sitting astride from the ones that hugged the fence line, with a small one person wide space in between each of them. The path that separated them was wide enough for a truck to pass through, albeit with a bit of difficulty. It made a sharp ninety degree turn in front of their spot, and ran forwards, terminating into a wide open space with nothing in it at all. Tai gestured for Sensha to stay there, and ran across the path, slipping into the narrow squeeze in between the row nearest to them. He stopped immediately, as a shock of raven black hair greeted him. It sat on top of someone who had his back to him, and was leaning back on a chair, loudly snoring away.  
  
Tai backed off, and checked the other side of the container, looking down the path that opened into the large space. Satisfied that no one was there, he looked back at Sensha, and gave her a thumbs up. She ran to his side and they both quietly made their way towards the other end of the container. Tai stopped as they reached the corner, and poked his head around. The area in front of the warehouse was mostly deserted, and devoid of any Agni Kai thugs, apart from that one guy who was sleeping in the chair, it looked as if there was nobody here at all. The symbol of a brightly colored fruit, painted onto the side of a grey truck, caught his eye. The vehicle was backed up against the loading dock of the warehouse, and it would be painfully easy to run over there and commandeer it, and drive out of there.  
  
"I think that's it." he said quietly, Sensha followed his pointing finger, and nodded. Tai continued. "There's only one guy, and he's out of it, so it should be simple."  
  
"You said that when you ran off after the equalists."  
  
"That was different!"  
  
She sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Let's go then."  
  
He gave her what he thought was a reassuring grin, which actually came off as slightly manic. He looked to his left and right, and ran across the open space, with Sensha trailing closely behind him. A few heart pounding moments of running later, and they were standing in front of the brightly colored fruit, Tai immediately went over to the drivers door, and had a go at pulling it open. He was rewarded with a thud, as the door's lock was still engaged. Sighing and dropping his shoulders a bit, he trudged back to Sensha, who had her arms crossed as she smirked. "Looks like we need a key."  
  
"Smart one aren't you?" she teased. She didn't wait for him to reply, instead looking at where the sleeping guard was. "I think he might have the key, you grab it off him, and I'll keep watch here."  
  
He thought about replying to her teasing, partly to retain some dignity for himself, but instead he shrugged, and nodded, running towards the rows of containers. He pulled himself onto the top of a faded crimson surface, and slowly, as anything faster than a walk would alert the guy below, he made his way across the top of the rows, using air bending to touch down lightly as he leapt over each gap.  
  
His feet touched down silently, on the surface of a deep blue container, and he walked to the other side of it, peering down at the top of the raven haired man's head. He saw his prize, a rusty metal ring hang off the man's belt, on which two keys dangled, sometimes jingling gently as they brushed against each other. Pursing his lips in concentration, he focused on making small, precise movements, as he tried to lift the ring off using the wind. Sadly it was still attached to the guard, being looped through his belt. Tai sighed in frustration, and dropped down behind the guard, leaning back slightly to avoid touching his hair, he bent down and slowly, and methodically, unhooked the ring from his belt. He fumbled, and the man snorted and screwed his eyes, and his nose exploded as he sneezed most violently. His eyes were open for a fraction of a second, and Tai froze. They closed again, and the man fell back into his peaceful rhythm. Tai let go of the breathe he was holding, and slipped the ring into a pocket on his coat. Having claimed his prize, he walked towards the fenceline, as he was too close to the guard to risk jumping onto the top of the noisy containers, he rounded the corner, and walked down the path, that led towards the gate. Confident that the other guard wouldn't see him, he turned and ran down the path leading towards the truck, with Sensha motioning for him to hurry up.  
  
Just as Tai was in the middle of his dash across the open space, they both heard a crash and a surprised yelp. Both of them froze in their movements, and could only stare as they watched the confused guard stumble out into the open, and looking straight at them. He gave a yell of alarm, and Tai ran at him, using his arms to slam a gust of wind into the man's stomach, sending him crashing into the container nearby, unconscious from the impact. Tai turned and gave Sensha a relieved smile before opening his mouth in dark surprise, as he gaped at the armored thug who had just seen the entire thing.  
  
"Sensha, up there!", the girl looked up just as the thug sent a blast of searing fire towards her, she quickly spun her arms, and deflected the projectile away from her and the truck, causing it to splash against the ground nearby. The thug slammed a button next to him, and the air was filled with a piercing shrill noise as the alarm blared. Tai glanced at the front gate, seeing the guard running towards them. He leapt on top of the containers, and held out his sword in both hands. He ran towards the other end of the container, and swept a massive gust of air at the advancing guard. He looked up too late, and could only throw a tiny ball of flame at the teen as the air itself slammed him into the container's wall with a ringing noise. He stumbled back from the impact, dazed as he tried to send a few more punches of fire at the boy.  
  
Tai dropped down onto him, and kicked him in the back, sending him crashing into the container again, making the man slump to the ground with a sigh. He turned back to the truck and Sensha, and saw her deflecting a massive wave of fire coming from three fire benders surrounding her. She had a determined look in her eyes as she kept deflecting and redirecting the stream of fire, causing it to stream into the ground nearby, blackening the dirt quickly.  
  
He ran towards the back of the truck, leaping on top of it's roof and running forwards, flanking the three thugs. As he leaped off the truck's cab, he scythed his foot downwards, and a vertical crescent shaped mass of air sliced towards the thug nearest to him. He didn't have enough time to react as the mass hit him full on, taking him off his feet and sliding him along the ground in front of the other two Agni's.  
  
That gave Sensha an opening, as she pulled her arms in, and threw them out, directing a massive blast of flame towards the remaining thugs. They just barely caught it, and sent another gout of flame in return, forcing her to cut the stream and dodge to the side, stepping around the advancing orange blaze.  
  
Tai approached from the right, launching quick bursts of wind and air to stumble and daze the two thugs, one of which was now facing him, the white three pronged mask gleaming softly in the firelight. He swept his arms towards the boy, calling forth a large arc of flame to sweep towards Tai from the side. He jumped into the air, clearing the deadly flame as he landed in front of the thug.  
  
But the armored man was ready for him, and both hands shot out towards him, aiming for his chest. He twisted to the side, avoiding the hard hitting strike. He retaliated with a swift kick upwards, but missed, and the thug managed to grab his leg, and pulled, knocking Tai off balance and crashing into the thug. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his chest, and squeeze. He coughed and sputtered as he felt his ribs compress and bend under the immense strength of the bender, and his vision began to dim. He struggled, trying to get an opening to use his hand.  
  
He briefly heard a cry of alarm elsewhere, and than one much closer as the armored figure fell back with a sigh, his back now scorched and blackened. Sensha stood there behind him. Tai untangle himself and stood up quickly, holding up the keys for Sensha to see.  
  
"Can you drive?" he half coughed and sputtered.  
  



End file.
